Regulator invites objections to Safaricom’s licence renewal bid

What you need to know:

Safaricom has applied for renewal of its two licences from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) after expiry of its current permits.
This is the first time that Safaricom is seeking renewal of the Network Facilities Provider Tier 1 licence since its founding in the late 1990s.
Those with objections have been asked to send them through the regulator’s postal office mailing address.

Communications regulator has given a one-month window for filing objections to the impending renewal of Safaricom’s operating licences, indicating that the process is in the home stretch.

Safaricom has applied for renewal of its two licences from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) after expiry of its current permits.

One of the licences is called the Network Facilities Provider Tier 1, which runs for 15 years and allows the provider to offer communication services based on satellite, terrestrial, mobile and fixed infrastructure.

The other one is the International Gateway Licence, which allows it to offer global connectivity.

“Any public or local authority, company, person or body of persons desirous of making any representation on or objection to the grant of that licence as aforesaid must do so by letter addressed to the director-general, Communications Authority of Kenya,” reads part of a Kenya Gazette notice dated May 7 and signed by Mutua Muthusi, CAK director for consumer and public affairs.

This is the first time that Safaricom is seeking renewal of the Network Facilities Provider Tier 1 licence since its founding in the late 1990s.

Those with objections have been asked to send them through the regulator’s postal office mailing address.

CAK has tied the renewal of Safaricom’s licence, which is due in June, to paying Sh2.3 billion and achieving the minimum quality standards. Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore said in a recent interview that the application and renewal process was ongoing.

“The discussions are going on well,” he told the Business Daily.

READ: CCK asks Safaricom to pay Sh2.3b for licence renewal

The regulator has labelled all the four mobile phone operators, including Safaricom, as non-compliant in the year to June having failed to meet minimum quality of service standards.

Safaricom, which is the industry’s biggest and most profitable operator, had a score of 50 per cent against the minimum target of 80 per cent on eight performance indicators.

The regulator also found Airtel, Orange and yuMobile to have failed the test. This was a worse verdict than the previous period from an industry perspective given that in the year to June 2012 the smaller operators Orange and yuMobile were compliant.

Safaricom, Airtel and yuMobile tied on a score of 50 per cent in the year to June while Telkom Kenya had a 62.5 per cent mark.

In 2012, Safaricom had the worst score of 50 per cent while Airtel was rated at 62.5 per cent. Telkom and yuMobile both attained 87.5 per cent.

CCK attributed the drop in performance to the enhancement of the weight of the eight indicators including speech quality, completed calls, call success and drop rates.