@Walu, I knew I am wrong, but have you ever heard the regulator give an ear to any consumer? I mean, even when we are being flooded with SMSes and we complain, the regulator does nothing. How would we expect it to act on prices? They'd say those are determined by market forces. Simple neat response. That's what I meant and you've nailed it as well. On 5 April 2013 19:05, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
@Wash, you are wrong on Price obligations for the Regulator. Check out
http://www.cck.go.ke/regulations/downloads/Kenya-Information-Communications-...
Part III, Clause on Telco Services,It says that the Regulator CCK Shall and I quote.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Commission shall— (a) protect the interests of all users of telecommunication services in Kenya with respect to the prices charged for and the quality and variety of such services;
The bigger issue really is WHEN should the regulator intervene rather than IF they should because clearly Pricing of Telco services is something they are mandated to keep tabs on. Basically the best approach is to let Competition (Law of Supply and Demand) settle the Price issue and Intervene only when there is market failure i.e. Dominant players overcharging consumers.
Which brings in the second question, what then is that fair-charge, above which the Regulator can or should intervene? That is the million dollar question, since in a free market economy what is fair for Mr. Moneybags in Runda is quite different from what is fair for Mr. Sufferer living somewhere in Kibera slums. An approximate solution is to calculate the average monthly cost of basic internet access (as advertised by Operators) and get that as a % of the average incomes. For the Kenyan case you are looking at about 3,000Ksh for a basic 1MB link per month. If we take this as a fraction of the average national incomes of Ksh 8,000 (100USD) we get that Kenyans are paying 3000/8000 or 37% of their income to internet/communication services. ITU statistics puts it at about 30% in 2012. Either way, it is still above our counterparts in Mauritius, SA or Egypt who sprend between 5-10% of their average incomes on Internet/Communication Services.
The best regulatory intervention however may not be Price-Caps as we know happening in the energy/fuel markets where the regulator issues fuel prices every two weeks or so and operators must adopt them or else. Perhaps regulator should promote competition in more ways than just increasing number of players. We need to see more unbundling of services where incumbent players are encouraged to share/lease the most of the expensive infrastructure to new entrants. Surely Nairobi does not need 4-5 players digging fiber to the same homes in this day and age. We probably need to see more alternate ways of accessing internet such as through smart/cable TV (e.g Triple Play). We also need to see the regulator finally releasing the 5Ghz spectrum that Operators have been crying for as another way of opening up a new competition battle ground for communication/internet services. We may want to see what the Regulator does with the Universal Service Fund, recently commissioned, in terms of providing affordable communication to the marginalised communities.
Some of these interventions maybe more long-lasting than trying to VUKA from one Operator to the other. walu.
------------------------------ *From:* Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo@gmail.com> *To:* jwalu@yahoo.com *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> *Sent:* Friday, April 5, 2013 5:11 PM *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Expensive Airtel?
The regulator: 1. Issues Licenses 2. Determines Interconnection fees 3. Lords over the Telcos stopping them from "tabia mbaya" - like unfair competition There is nowhere where the consumer surfaces in the mind of the regulator, if you ask me.
On 5 April 2013 16:28, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca> wrote:
Great idea! **** ** ** However, my question would then be what’s the role of the Regulator – CCK? This information, processed in this manner should be in the public domain and comparable across operators as one of CCK’s roles is to check not only on quality of service, but also price of service.**** ** ** Edith**** ** ** ** ** ** ** *From:* Odhiambo Washington [mailto:odhiambo@gmail.com] *Sent:* April 5, 2013 2:52 PM *To:* Edith Adera *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Expensive Airtel?**** ** ** Hi Edith,**** ** ** Do it like a Standard 1 kid would:**** 1. Load 50bob airtime**** 2. Set phone to show phone duration**** 3. Make a call lasting N minutes**** 4. Check airtime balance after the call.**** ** ** Do the same on your Safaricom/Yu/Orange Tarrif.**** ** ** Show the comparison.**** ** ** Ditto for data. Buy bundle. Download the same file on 3 different networks. Check bundle balance.**** ** ** Tabulate and show us how they compare:-)**** ** ** ** ** ** ** On 5 April 2013 13:29, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca> wrote:**** Listers,**** **** It has taken me months wondering if it’s real or imaginary that Airtel has become very expensive! Whether it’s for calls or Internet (spectacularly expensive especially for this service). It dawned on me as I was writing this message that indeed I’ve not seen their aggressive adverts on favourable tarrifs etc for a while now (nor from other providers as it was a while back). Has the telecom market ceased to be competitive given our *peculiar Kenyan behaviour* (“sticky” consumers who do not respond to number portability, poor quality of service, high price of service etc etc).**** **** Am I alone?**** **** Wondering Edith**** **** **** **** ****
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 "I can't hear you -- I'm using the scrambler."