It is time we reviewed the bidding system this country has adopted to remove conflict of policy interest and move this country forward. We must address ourselves to the purpose of the licence - is it to make money for the government to fill treasury gaps or to expand the telecommunications infrastructure. By demanding to have the cake and eat it, we are nowhere 5 years after starting the process of SNO and Third Cellular Operator. It is a lesson well documented in countries that Kenya copied ref Senegal and Malawi among others. At the heart of the conflict is a government stating that ICT is the driver of growth yet put barriers which cripple the operators even before they start. The requirements of local partnership while sweet for political reasons is difficult to realise because the international partners have inadequate time to assess the right partner and hence the problems for SNO and third cellular We need immediate action - first, scrap the requirement of 30% local owner by the time of application of licence but require that within 3 years the winner has brought on board local shareholders through the stock exchange and raise ownership to at least 49% by year 5 of operation . This has worked well for Tz - Second, the licence is not a cash cow - we need infrastructure badly now therefore that licence money should be invested to enable the new entrant to compete with the incumbents and roll out rapidly . Licence should not cost more that USD1. What the entrants should compete with is the cash they will invest in Kenya and the timeline. -finally, CCK should address the anomaly of conflicting policies it issues. In 2004, CCK issued a policy which translates to adoption of horizontal licensing regime to move away from vertical licensing regime. The SNO licence is in direct contradiction of the 2004 policy. Was the policy rescinded? The danger of the unified licence is that it denies Kenyan ICT entrepreneurs a natural growth path and condemns Kenya to permanently have few mega operators and many small operators without a path to migrate from small to big. Should the envisaged fast growing economy to vision 2030 be hinged on few mega operators whose power can sometimes rival the regulator? We need a paradigm shift towards horizontal licensing Cheers Muriuki Mureithi --------------------------------------- Summit Strategies Ltd - ICT Consultancy & Research in Eastern & Central African markets Contacts : Tel +254 (20) 3875824 , Cell + 254 (722) 520090, email: mureithi@summitstrategies.co.ke alternate email : muriuki.mureithi@gmail.com -----Original Message----- From: kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke@kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke@kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of alice Sent: 19 March 2007 09:01 To: mureithi@summitstrategies.co.ke Subject: [kictanet] RELIANCE MISSES OUT ON SNO LICENCE IN KENYA From BALANCING ACT: RELIANCE MISSES OUT ON SNO LICENCE IN KENYA The Communications Commission of Kenya has cancelled a tender for the second national operator (SNO) licence that it had awarded Reliance Communications, after the consortium failed to pay for the fees. This is the second cancellation, after CCK annulled the licence it had given a consortium led by Dubai-based Vtel Holdings in January, for failing to pay the US$169 million (Sh12 billion) licence fee it had bid. Reliance, which was the second highest bidder at US$111 million (Sh7.8 billion), was allowed to apply for the licence, but on condition that it pay Sh12 billion to match Vtel's bid. Reliance confirmed that it would take up the offer and requested for more time to prepare for the licence. CCK said last week Reliance had a deadline of March 15. "By the expiry of the said deadline at 4.00 p.m. yesterday (Thursday) Reliance Communications had not made a formal application for the licence as required," CCK said. The Commission's director-general John Waweru said they had resolved to immediately restart the tendering process for the licence. (SOURCE: The Nation) _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@kictanet.or.ke http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mureithi%40summitstrategies.c o.ke -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.11/721 - Release Date: 13/03/2007 16:51