Listers Another one bites the dust? I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/> Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players? *Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya. Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
Ali, Not only are we seeing unfair advantage accorded to specific players, I think the consumers may need to be aware that they also need to themselves take the step to invest in competing alternatives (is it that the consumers are not aware of the implications - or is it that they plain decide to join the wave). Why I play the consumer card here is because - by experience - players like Airtel have always offered better service charges for a number of services they offer - including Airtel Money, Monthly bundled plans, etc etc. Sometimes it even made sense to get a monthly bundle from Airtel (across all networks) because its cheaper in the long run. Frankly consumers lack of support for competing alternatives demonstrates that consumers complain a lot about unfair service provision but take no steps to make it better in the long run - in light of the fact that in such circumstances investing in competition is actually even a cheaper short term option easily available. On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 8:38 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ultimateprogramer%40gmail.com
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.
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Principal Product Management Specialist - Al Jazeera Media Network Skype: ultimateprogramer
Ahmed Respectfully I disagree. What some people call Market Failure I call Market Dominance. Dominance here means that one works for it. Hard. And earns it. As opposed to a Monopoly which one is given freely. Like Kenya Power. And the assumptions that customers will go for services or products purely based on price is a fallacy. If this were the case Apple as a company would have died a long time ago. And it almost died once. But it reinvented itself. We need to interrogate this issue deeply. For example let's start first with interrogating the 'Dominance' Report that was supposed to have been out by now. Rachel of CA can maybe advise us on this. Customers are unforgiving towards mediocrity. Instead of blaming a 'Dominant' player or regulation let's address this issue holistically:- 1. Is the 'Dominant' player abusing its powers? There are remedies to this. 2. Are regulatory forces skewed to one player? 3. What are customers really looking for? 4. Is the country economic dynamics big enough to accommodate more than three telcos? Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad
On 28 Jan 2017, at 8:54 AM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy <ultimateprogramer@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,
Not only are we seeing unfair advantage accorded to specific players, I think the consumers may need to be aware that they also need to themselves take the step to invest in competing alternatives (is it that the consumers are not aware of the implications - or is it that they plain decide to join the wave).
Why I play the consumer card here is because - by experience - players like Airtel have always offered better service charges for a number of services they offer - including Airtel Money, Monthly bundled plans, etc etc. Sometimes it even made sense to get a monthly bundle from Airtel (across all networks) because its cheaper in the long run.
Frankly consumers lack of support for competing alternatives demonstrates that consumers complain a lot about unfair service provision but take no steps to make it better in the long run - in light of the fact that in such circumstances investing in competition is actually even a cheaper short term option easily available.
On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 8:38 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa.
Airtel plans Africa exit
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates
Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ultimateprogramer%40gm...
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.
-- Ahmed Maawy Principal Product Management Specialist - Al Jazeera Media Network Skype: ultimateprogramer
*What some people call Market Failure I call Market Dominance. Dominance here means that one works for it. Hard. And earns it. As opposed to a Monopoly which one is given freely. Like Kenya Power. And the assumptions that customers will go for services or products purely based on price is a fallacy. If this were the case Apple as a company would have died a long time ago. And it almost died once. But it reinvented itself.* Ali, Apple and Safaricom's case are not the same. Apple have a value proposition and people back it without any policy enforcements. I would buy an Apple anytime because I know what I guess. My question to you: Where is the quality of service Safaricom has that is comparable to Apple's Quality of service for having the niche market it has (quality at the cost you pay for it)? On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 9:28 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Ahmed
Respectfully I disagree.
What some people call Market Failure I call Market Dominance. Dominance here means that one works for it. Hard. And earns it. As opposed to a Monopoly which one is given freely. Like Kenya Power. And the assumptions that customers will go for services or products purely based on price is a fallacy. If this were the case Apple as a company would have died a long time ago. And it almost died once. But it reinvented itself.
We need to interrogate this issue deeply. For example let's start first with interrogating the 'Dominance' Report that was supposed to have been out by now. Rachel of CA can maybe advise us on this.
Customers are unforgiving towards mediocrity. Instead of blaming a 'Dominant' player or regulation let's address this issue holistically:-
1. Is the 'Dominant' player abusing its powers? There are remedies to this. 2. Are regulatory forces skewed to one player? 3. What are customers really looking for? 4. Is the country economic dynamics big enough to accommodate more than three telcos?
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 28 Jan 2017, at 8:54 AM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy < ultimateprogramer@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,
Not only are we seeing unfair advantage accorded to specific players, I think the consumers may need to be aware that they also need to themselves take the step to invest in competing alternatives (is it that the consumers are not aware of the implications - or is it that they plain decide to join the wave).
Why I play the consumer card here is because - by experience - players like Airtel have always offered better service charges for a number of services they offer - including Airtel Money, Monthly bundled plans, etc etc. Sometimes it even made sense to get a monthly bundle from Airtel (across all networks) because its cheaper in the long run.
Frankly consumers lack of support for competing alternatives demonstrates that consumers complain a lot about unfair service provision but take no steps to make it better in the long run - in light of the fact that in such circumstances investing in competition is actually even a cheaper short term option easily available.
On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 8:38 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ultimateprogramer%40gmail.com
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.
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Principal Product Management Specialist - Al Jazeera Media Network Skype: ultimateprogramer
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Principal Product Management Specialist - Al Jazeera Media Network Skype: ultimateprogramer
Hi At what point do the strategy of the failing company get blamed? Am sure am not alone in using the competition only to be disappointed by them even on the basics like access to customer service Regards Simon On 28 Jan 2017 9:31 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Ahmed Respectfully I disagree. What some people call Market Failure I call Market Dominance. Dominance here means that one works for it. Hard. And earns it. As opposed to a Monopoly which one is given freely. Like Kenya Power. And the assumptions that customers will go for services or products purely based on price is a fallacy. If this were the case Apple as a company would have died a long time ago. And it almost died once. But it reinvented itself. We need to interrogate this issue deeply. For example let's start first with interrogating the 'Dominance' Report that was supposed to have been out by now. Rachel of CA can maybe advise us on this. Customers are unforgiving towards mediocrity. Instead of blaming a 'Dominant' player or regulation let's address this issue holistically:- 1. Is the 'Dominant' player abusing its powers? There are remedies to this. 2. Are regulatory forces skewed to one player? 3. What are customers really looking for? 4. Is the country economic dynamics big enough to accommodate more than three telcos? *Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 28 Jan 2017, at 8:54 AM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy <ultimateprogramer@gmail.com> wrote: Ali, Not only are we seeing unfair advantage accorded to specific players, I think the consumers may need to be aware that they also need to themselves take the step to invest in competing alternatives (is it that the consumers are not aware of the implications - or is it that they plain decide to join the wave). Why I play the consumer card here is because - by experience - players like Airtel have always offered better service charges for a number of services they offer - including Airtel Money, Monthly bundled plans, etc etc. Sometimes it even made sense to get a monthly bundle from Airtel (across all networks) because its cheaper in the long run. Frankly consumers lack of support for competing alternatives demonstrates that consumers complain a lot about unfair service provision but take no steps to make it better in the long run - in light of the fact that in such circumstances investing in competition is actually even a cheaper short term option easily available. On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 8:38 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ultimateprogramer%40gmail.com
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.
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Principal Product Management Specialist - Al Jazeera Media Network Skype: ultimateprogramer _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/snjoro45%40gmail.com 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.
Personally I think Airtel and preceding owners have always had one flaw: Using the same business model across board, possibly borrowed from India and grafted into a continent of "unique calling habits". I asked one of the guys that was fired from Airtel recently what breaks, his answer (may or may not be right ) was telling. [21:47, 1/27/2017] [REDACTED]: What they don't get is that they have wrong
Indian strategies
[21:47, 1/27/2017] [REDACTED]: They should let us manage the company waone
tukifaulu
On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 9:55 AM, simon njoroge via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hi
At what point do the strategy of the failing company get blamed?
Am sure am not alone in using the competition only to be disappointed by them even on the basics like access to customer service
Regards Simon
On 28 Jan 2017 9:31 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ahmed
Respectfully I disagree.
What some people call Market Failure I call Market Dominance. Dominance here means that one works for it. Hard. And earns it. As opposed to a Monopoly which one is given freely. Like Kenya Power. And the assumptions that customers will go for services or products purely based on price is a fallacy. If this were the case Apple as a company would have died a long time ago. And it almost died once. But it reinvented itself.
We need to interrogate this issue deeply. For example let's start first with interrogating the 'Dominance' Report that was supposed to have been out by now. Rachel of CA can maybe advise us on this.
Customers are unforgiving towards mediocrity. Instead of blaming a 'Dominant' player or regulation let's address this issue holistically:-
1. Is the 'Dominant' player abusing its powers? There are remedies to this. 2. Are regulatory forces skewed to one player? 3. What are customers really looking for? 4. Is the country economic dynamics big enough to accommodate more than three telcos?
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 28 Jan 2017, at 8:54 AM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy < ultimateprogramer@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,
Not only are we seeing unfair advantage accorded to specific players, I think the consumers may need to be aware that they also need to themselves take the step to invest in competing alternatives (is it that the consumers are not aware of the implications - or is it that they plain decide to join the wave).
Why I play the consumer card here is because - by experience - players like Airtel have always offered better service charges for a number of services they offer - including Airtel Money, Monthly bundled plans, etc etc. Sometimes it even made sense to get a monthly bundle from Airtel (across all networks) because its cheaper in the long run.
Frankly consumers lack of support for competing alternatives demonstrates that consumers complain a lot about unfair service provision but take no steps to make it better in the long run - in light of the fact that in such circumstances investing in competition is actually even a cheaper short term option easily available.
On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 8:38 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ultimateprogramer%40gmail.com
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.
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Principal Product Management Specialist - Al Jazeera Media Network Skype: ultimateprogramer
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/snjoro45%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/arebacollins%40gmail.com
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.
-- Regards, Collins Areba, Kilifi, Kenya. Tel: +*254 707 750 788 */ *0731534124* Twitter: @arebacollins. Skype: arebacollins
Hey Ali, Indeed these points you raise are pertinent. Let us see the outcome of the Competition Market Study that we shall be releasing soon. It is not complete but in the next few weeks, it should be out. We shall have a stakeholders roundtable on the same. I shall ensure this forum is informed and also invited, then you can also interrogate the outcome of the study. Regards, Rachel From: kictanet <kictanet-bounces+alwala=ca.go.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet-bounces+alwala=ca.go.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> on behalf of KICTAnet Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> Reply-To: KICTAnet Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> Date: Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 9:28 AM To: Rachel <alwala@ca.go.ke<mailto:alwala@ca.go.ke>> Cc: Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>>, KICTAnet Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel Plans Africa Exit Ahmed Respectfully I disagree. What some people call Market Failure I call Market Dominance. Dominance here means that one works for it. Hard. And earns it. As opposed to a Monopoly which one is given freely. Like Kenya Power. And the assumptions that customers will go for services or products purely based on price is a fallacy. If this were the case Apple as a company would have died a long time ago. And it almost died once. But it reinvented itself. We need to interrogate this issue deeply. For example let's start first with interrogating the 'Dominance' Report that was supposed to have been out by now. Rachel of CA can maybe advise us on this. Customers are unforgiving towards mediocrity. Instead of blaming a 'Dominant' player or regulation let's address this issue holistically:- 1. Is the 'Dominant' player abusing its powers? There are remedies to this. 2. Are regulatory forces skewed to one player? 3. What are customers really looking for? 4. Is the country economic dynamics big enough to accommodate more than three telcos? Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 28 Jan 2017, at 8:54 AM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy <ultimateprogramer@gmail.com<mailto:ultimateprogramer@gmail.com>> wrote: Ali, Not only are we seeing unfair advantage accorded to specific players, I think the consumers may need to be aware that they also need to themselves take the step to invest in competing alternatives (is it that the consumers are not aware of the implications - or is it that they plain decide to join the wave). Why I play the consumer card here is because - by experience - players like Airtel have always offered better service charges for a number of services they offer - including Airtel Money, Monthly bundled plans, etc etc. Sometimes it even made sense to get a monthly bundle from Airtel (across all networks) because its cheaper in the long run. Frankly consumers lack of support for competing alternatives demonstrates that consumers complain a lot about unfair service provision but take no steps to make it better in the long run - in light of the fact that in such circumstances investing in competition is actually even a cheaper short term option easily available. On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 8:38 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> wrote: Listers Another one bites the dust? I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange<http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit<http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/> Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players? Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya. Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ultimateprogramer%40gm... 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. -- Ahmed Maawy Principal Product Management Specialist - Al Jazeera Media Network Skype: ultimateprogramer
Rachel Thanks for the update on the Dominance Report. *Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya. Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with. On Sun, Feb 5, 2017 at 3:38 PM, Alwala, Rachel <Alwala@ca.go.ke> wrote:
Hey Ali,
Indeed these points you raise are pertinent. Let us see the outcome of the Competition Market Study that we shall be releasing soon. It is not complete but in the next few weeks, it should be out. We shall have a stakeholders roundtable on the same. I shall ensure this forum is informed and also invited, then you can also interrogate the outcome of the study.
Regards,
Rachel
From: kictanet <kictanet-bounces+alwala=ca.go.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke> on behalf of KICTAnet Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Reply-To: KICTAnet Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 9:28 AM To: Rachel <alwala@ca.go.ke> Cc: Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>, KICTAnet Discussions < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel Plans Africa Exit
Ahmed
Respectfully I disagree.
What some people call Market Failure I call Market Dominance. Dominance here means that one works for it. Hard. And earns it. As opposed to a Monopoly which one is given freely. Like Kenya Power. And the assumptions that customers will go for services or products purely based on price is a fallacy. If this were the case Apple as a company would have died a long time ago. And it almost died once. But it reinvented itself.
We need to interrogate this issue deeply. For example let's start first with interrogating the 'Dominance' Report that was supposed to have been out by now. Rachel of CA can maybe advise us on this.
Customers are unforgiving towards mediocrity. Instead of blaming a 'Dominant' player or regulation let's address this issue holistically:-
1. Is the 'Dominant' player abusing its powers? There are remedies to this. 2. Are regulatory forces skewed to one player? 3. What are customers really looking for? 4. Is the country economic dynamics big enough to accommodate more than three telcos?
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 28 Jan 2017, at 8:54 AM, Ahmed Mohamed Maawy < ultimateprogramer@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,
Not only are we seeing unfair advantage accorded to specific players, I think the consumers may need to be aware that they also need to themselves take the step to invest in competing alternatives (is it that the consumers are not aware of the implications - or is it that they plain decide to join the wave).
Why I play the consumer card here is because - by experience - players like Airtel have always offered better service charges for a number of services they offer - including Airtel Money, Monthly bundled plans, etc etc. Sometimes it even made sense to get a monthly bundle from Airtel (across all networks) because its cheaper in the long run.
Frankly consumers lack of support for competing alternatives demonstrates that consumers complain a lot about unfair service provision but take no steps to make it better in the long run - in light of the fact that in such circumstances investing in competition is actually even a cheaper short term option easily available.
On Sat, Jan 28, 2017 at 8:38 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ultimateprogramer%40gmail.com
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.
-- *Ahmed Maawy* Principal Product Management Specialist - Al Jazeera Media Network Skype: ultimateprogramer
Ali, The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share. Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now! What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is....... THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
Hi All, I echo Tony's sentiments. The customer service on Airtel is a joke. I speak out of experience, as person, whose first line was a Kencell line. Right now, not only do I have three safaricom lines, but also consume their data at home service. Speed at which Safaricom brings convenient services to the consumers, is what differentiates the success between the two Telcos. Also, understanding the market that you're playing in is key. As Ngigi says, THIS IS AFRICA, home to peculiar people. Regards, On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/james%40muendo.co.ke
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.
-- James Muendo Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Logic Craft Ltd, Suite 39, 2nd Floor, Visions Plaza, Mombasa Road P.O Box 28016 – 00200, Nairobi,KE M:| +254.725.567.508 S: | tim.rick Gtalk:| james.muendo T: | @Mmuendo <https://twitter.com/Mmuendo> W:|http://about.me/muendo Too Brief? Here's Why <http://emailcharter.org/>
Ngigi :-) The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:- 1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you.. 2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on. 3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance. 4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer. Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear. Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA!
On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa.
Airtel plans Africa exit
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates
Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
Ali, Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis. Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*? 2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt. Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line. MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard! But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa! Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market. Rgds On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,* *Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH.... On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
Hi Mblayo, Good to e-see you on the list, you just touched on what was on my mind, is this state of affairs healthy? or are we returning to the days of monopolies like Telkom Kenya. Remember Safaricom was a spin off or Telkom Kenya , a apple does not fall far from the tree. I would like to get the opinion of regulatory experts on the current state of affairs and future implications on the Sector Regards On 1/30/17, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
-- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
Ngigi, It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a Safaricom one. If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the telecom market in Kenya. Regards, Job Muriuki, Skype: heviejob On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com
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.
Job Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to their platform without them paying for it? Surely not... This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those Neanderthals in Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the revolution. Literally. I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then it's their prerogative. Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ngigi,
It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a Safaricom one. If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the telecom market in Kenya.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: .....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA!
On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa.
Airtel plans Africa exit
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates
Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- Regards,
Waithaka Ngigi Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
Ali, I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties. Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to open a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with CBA altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have been arm twisted to using them. Regards, Job Muriuki, Skype: heviejob On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Job
Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to their platform without them paying for it? Surely not...
This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those Neanderthals in Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the revolution. Literally.
I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then it's their prerogative.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ngigi,
It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a Safaricom one. If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the telecom market in Kenya.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
Job I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common place today:- 1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems to talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The new Mantra in Business is Platform Thinking. I advise you read this article in HBR:- https://hbr.org/2016/04/pipelines-platforms-and-the-new-rules-of-strategy 2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the network effect (also called network externality or demand-side economies of scale) is the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of a product or service is dependent on the number of others using it. (Wikipedia) This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the competition. Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply didn't go well. So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in Equity. That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we all know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the Galaxies align for you. As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the Game..and change it!! :-) Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,
I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties. Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to open a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with CBA altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have been arm twisted to using them.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Job
Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to their platform without them paying for it? Surely not...
This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those Neanderthals in Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the revolution. Literally.
I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then it's their prerogative.
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ngigi,
It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a Safaricom one. If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the telecom market in Kenya.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: .....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
> On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote: > > Ali, > > The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom > > Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share. > > Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now! > > What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is....... > > THIS IS AFRICA! > >> On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >> Listers >> >> Another one bites the dust? >> >> I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. >> >> Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. >> >> The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. >> >> Airtel plans Africa exit >> >> Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players? >> >> Ali Hussein >> Principal >> Hussein & Associates >> >> Tel: +254 713 601113 >> Twitter: @AliHKassim >> Skype: abu-jomo >> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim >> >> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, >> Chiromo Road, Westlands, >> Nairobi, Kenya. >> >> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >> >> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke >> >> 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.
-- Regards,
Waithaka Ngigi Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
Ali, My very last take on this.... What you refer to, that the market always corrects itself assumes a pretty fair playing field, in which case, yes! However, closely associated with market dominance is monopoly tendencies (stolen from Julius Malema), illegal & underhand business practices and *ultimately* anti-competitive behaviours! Lets look back at Microsoft versus everyone else. While Microsoft wasn't broken up as was initially suggested, they were forced to open up their API for the operating system to ensure that every developer using the Microsoft Windows API got the exact same API. They were also forced to unbundle IE from the OS. If you remember Windows '98, IE was equivalent to the Windows Shell. You used it upende usipende! What did that do to other browsers, it killed them off one by one! When they unbundled the browser and gave users a choice on the Windows Platform we got Firefox, Google Chrome et.al.... Innovation Look to the other side of Microsoft incenstious relationship with Intel forming the formidable WinTel! Intel at the height of its anti-competitive behaviour paid Dell more than USD 1B *NOT* to use AMD chips which were by then leading in the processors war. Remember AMD gave us 64bit computing way ahead of Intel. It is not hard to imagine what 'illegal' things one would do if you had a few Billion shillings to spend against your competitors with no anti-competition laws. You could: 1. Pay every mobile agent to make sure they never offer services for other providers apart from yours 2. With you advertising budget running into Bs ensure that your competition never airs any Ads from your competitors, until you 'approve' it. 3, with your deep pockets ensure no 'bad' or illegal practices that you are heavily involved in are mentioned anywhere in the media. If any media house airs any, you pull-off your entire media bookings from them until they 'shika adabu'! 4. Buy the entire usable bandwidth from TEAMS without using it, simply to starve your competition until they surrender. 4. Buy the entire stock of your competitions 'bottles' to make sure they keep on manufacturing news ones every time as opposed to simply recycling them. 5. Ensure that no mobile phone provider pre-loads any competing app to your core apps, whether they are sold on your network on not! If they do, you simply cancel all their orders and voila, watu wanashika adabu! 6. Ensure no one even dreams of selling dual-sim phones through your network... yeah, this one was hilarious & true! Point is, Market dominance that ultimately leads to anti-competitive behaviour, which ultimately stifles competition. Think about it, what-if, just before M-Pesa launched, Airtel Kenya which I think was at par with Safaricom then, called their lobbyist and handed them some seriously loaded brown envelopes to kill of the then nascent mobile money transfer technology, where would we be today? And that's why I shuddered when Equity came up with the novel idea of using SIM Card overlays, which Safaricom fought tooth and nail to stop, including using serious FUD, the Courts, Government bureaucracy et.al to stop an idea whose time had come! Equitel was *lucky* to see the next day. You could argue they had deep pockets! But, what of that kid in campus who comes up with MPesa reloaded, will he survive the onslaught? What if WhatsApp was a Kenyan firm, threatening to take away crucial revenue from SMS from Safaricom as an example? Would they have been allowed to thrive? How many 'ICT practitioners' would have come out of the woodwork to claim that this technology was 'unsafe', 'untested', 'unregulated'? How many media outlets would have covered their success stories without fear of antagonizing their loaded telco customers? How many phone providers would have dared to be been 'seen' to advertising Whatsapp on their phones? List goes on & on. My point is, market dominance without very solid & well implemented anti-competition laws stifles innovation big time. P.S Every scenario I have picked on, on what I would do if I had a few Bs to smoother my competition is hypothetical and likeness to any real scenario is by mere inter-galactic coincidence :-) Rgds On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Job
I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common place today:-
1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems to talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The new Mantra in Business is *Platform Thinking*. I advise you read this article in HBR:-
https://hbr.org/2016/04/pipelines-platforms-and-the-new-rules-of-strategy
2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the *network effect* (also called *network externality* or *demand-side economies of scale*) is the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of a product or service is dependent on the number of others using it. (Wikipedia)
This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the competition.
Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply didn't go well.
So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in Equity.
That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we all know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the Galaxies align for you.
As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the Game..and change it!! :-)
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,
I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties. Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to open a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with CBA altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have been arm twisted to using them.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Job
Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to their platform without them paying for it? Surely not...
This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those Neanderthals in Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the revolution. Literally.
I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then it's their prerogative.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ngigi,
It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a Safaricom one. If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the telecom market in Kenya.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,* *Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
Hello everyone, Interesting debate. And after all the vibrant debate, explanations and the likely perception of Safaricom as the bad guys or reaping from policies skewed to their advantage, for me the Big Q is why is Airtel exiting other countries as well? Can it be facing the same issues across the board, or could it be simply not understanding the African market altogether? Way back when in the early days, I think they were first to introduce the concept of sharing airtime called Me2U. I might have seen a TV ad or two on NTV and KTN and that was it. Safaricom took the idea, called it Sambaza, advertized where wananchi were and the rest is history. And the same pattern repeated itself in many ways, just knowing how to get people's hearts. Remember the Masai ad? Sometimes the answers are in the simple things. Best Beryl On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:44 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
My very last take on this....
What you refer to, that the market always corrects itself assumes a pretty fair playing field, in which case, yes!
However, closely associated with market dominance is monopoly tendencies (stolen from Julius Malema), illegal & underhand business practices and *ultimately* anti-competitive behaviours!
Lets look back at Microsoft versus everyone else. While Microsoft wasn't broken up as was initially suggested, they were forced to open up their API for the operating system to ensure that every developer using the Microsoft Windows API got the exact same API.
They were also forced to unbundle IE from the OS. If you remember Windows '98, IE was equivalent to the Windows Shell. You used it upende usipende! What did that do to other browsers, it killed them off one by one!
When they unbundled the browser and gave users a choice on the Windows Platform we got Firefox, Google Chrome et.al.... Innovation
Look to the other side of Microsoft incenstious relationship with Intel forming the formidable WinTel!
Intel at the height of its anti-competitive behaviour paid Dell more than USD 1B *NOT* to use AMD chips which were by then leading in the processors war. Remember AMD gave us 64bit computing way ahead of Intel.
It is not hard to imagine what 'illegal' things one would do if you had a few Billion shillings to spend against your competitors with no anti-competition laws. You could: 1. Pay every mobile agent to make sure they never offer services for other providers apart from yours 2. With you advertising budget running into Bs ensure that your competition never airs any Ads from your competitors, until you 'approve' it. 3, with your deep pockets ensure no 'bad' or illegal practices that you are heavily involved in are mentioned anywhere in the media. If any media house airs any, you pull-off your entire media bookings from them until they 'shika adabu'! 4. Buy the entire usable bandwidth from TEAMS without using it, simply to starve your competition until they surrender. 4. Buy the entire stock of your competitions 'bottles' to make sure they keep on manufacturing news ones every time as opposed to simply recycling them. 5. Ensure that no mobile phone provider pre-loads any competing app to your core apps, whether they are sold on your network on not! If they do, you simply cancel all their orders and voila, watu wanashika adabu! 6. Ensure no one even dreams of selling dual-sim phones through your network... yeah, this one was hilarious & true!
Point is, Market dominance that ultimately leads to anti-competitive behaviour, which ultimately stifles competition.
Think about it, what-if, just before M-Pesa launched, Airtel Kenya which I think was at par with Safaricom then, called their lobbyist and handed them some seriously loaded brown envelopes to kill of the then nascent mobile money transfer technology, where would we be today?
And that's why I shuddered when Equity came up with the novel idea of using SIM Card overlays, which Safaricom fought tooth and nail to stop, including using serious FUD, the Courts, Government bureaucracy et.al to stop an idea whose time had come!
Equitel was *lucky* to see the next day. You could argue they had deep pockets!
But, what of that kid in campus who comes up with MPesa reloaded, will he survive the onslaught? What if WhatsApp was a Kenyan firm, threatening to take away crucial revenue from SMS from Safaricom as an example?
Would they have been allowed to thrive?
How many 'ICT practitioners' would have come out of the woodwork to claim that this technology was 'unsafe', 'untested', 'unregulated'?
How many media outlets would have covered their success stories without fear of antagonizing their loaded telco customers?
How many phone providers would have dared to be been 'seen' to advertising Whatsapp on their phones?
List goes on & on.
My point is, market dominance without very solid & well implemented anti-competition laws stifles innovation big time.
P.S Every scenario I have picked on, on what I would do if I had a few Bs to smoother my competition is hypothetical and likeness to any real scenario is by mere inter-galactic coincidence :-)
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Job
I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common place today:-
1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems to talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The new Mantra in Business is *Platform Thinking*. I advise you read this article in HBR:-
https://hbr.org/2016/04/pipelines-platforms-and-the-new-rules-of-strategy
2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the *network effect* (also called *network externality* or *demand-side economies of scale*) is the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of a product or service is dependent on the number of others using it. (Wikipedia)
This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the competition.
Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply didn't go well.
So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in Equity.
That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we all know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the Galaxies align for you.
As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the Game..and change it!! :-)
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,
I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties. Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to open a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with CBA altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have been arm twisted to using them.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Job
Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to their platform without them paying for it? Surely not...
This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those Neanderthals in Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the revolution. Literally.
I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then it's their prerogative.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ngigi,
It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a Safaricom one. If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the telecom market in Kenya.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> Listers > > Another one bites the dust? > > I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. > > Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African > countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, > Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, > Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. > > The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those > markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its > operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to > Orange > <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, > the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. > Airtel plans Africa exit > <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/> > > Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory > environment skewed towards a few players? > > *Ali Hussein* > > *Principal* > > *Hussein & Associates* > > > > Tel: +254 713 601113 > > Twitter: @AliHKassim > > Skype: abu-jomo > > LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim > <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> > > > 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, > > Chiromo Road, Westlands, > > Nairobi, Kenya. > > Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are > purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the > organizations that I work with. > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ > > Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m > ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke > > 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. >
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/bee.aidi%40gmail.com
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.
-- Beryl *********************************************** Darkness cannot put out the Light. It can only make God brighter. —Author Unknown.
Hussein, I agree with you that in a competitive market the stronger will have a certain level of dominance. However in the telecoms industry, and more specifically when we talk about a space with a limited number of issued licenses (call them competitors), things can go very wrong very quickly if an eye isn't kept on a dominant player with significant market power (SMP) which can be abused to produce anti-competitive effects. It is also very necessary to reduce the granularity of analysis almost to the product level as a company can have varying levels of market dominance across different ranges of product offerings, a good example is m-pesa which has already been cited (my guesstimate is that Safaricom has about 98-99% market share in mobile money). Thereafter a composite of the various dominances(sic) across various products lines would probably give a fair idea of the extent to which the company dmoinates overall. At this point it would be possible to determine whether anti-trust methodologies, regulatory interventions, policy interventions are necessary. At the crux of all of this is the strength (and independence) of the various regulatory authorities (comms regulator, competition authority, revenue authority et al). And of course underpinning all of this is the strength of the policy, legislative and statutory frameworks that govern the space. IMHO the country is a the mercy of Safaricom's goodwill. All the company needs is a Trump who will strong-arm all of the actors/players into dancing to his/her tune... My two sumuni, Mblayo On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 12:20 AM, Beryl Aidi via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello everyone, Interesting debate. And after all the vibrant debate, explanations and the likely perception of Safaricom as the bad guys or reaping from policies skewed to their advantage, for me the Big Q is why is Airtel exiting other countries as well? Can it be facing the same issues across the board, or could it be simply not understanding the African market altogether? Way back when in the early days, I think they were first to introduce the concept of sharing airtime called Me2U. I might have seen a TV ad or two on NTV and KTN and that was it. Safaricom took the idea, called it Sambaza, advertized where wananchi were and the rest is history. And the same pattern repeated itself in many ways, just knowing how to get people's hearts. Remember the Masai ad? Sometimes the answers are in the simple things.
Best Beryl
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:44 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
My very last take on this....
What you refer to, that the market always corrects itself assumes a pretty fair playing field, in which case, yes!
However, closely associated with market dominance is monopoly tendencies (stolen from Julius Malema), illegal & underhand business practices and *ultimately* anti-competitive behaviours!
Lets look back at Microsoft versus everyone else. While Microsoft wasn't broken up as was initially suggested, they were forced to open up their API for the operating system to ensure that every developer using the Microsoft Windows API got the exact same API.
They were also forced to unbundle IE from the OS. If you remember Windows '98, IE was equivalent to the Windows Shell. You used it upende usipende! What did that do to other browsers, it killed them off one by one!
When they unbundled the browser and gave users a choice on the Windows Platform we got Firefox, Google Chrome et.al.... Innovation
Look to the other side of Microsoft incenstious relationship with Intel forming the formidable WinTel!
Intel at the height of its anti-competitive behaviour paid Dell more than USD 1B *NOT* to use AMD chips which were by then leading in the processors war. Remember AMD gave us 64bit computing way ahead of Intel.
It is not hard to imagine what 'illegal' things one would do if you had a few Billion shillings to spend against your competitors with no anti-competition laws. You could: 1. Pay every mobile agent to make sure they never offer services for other providers apart from yours 2. With you advertising budget running into Bs ensure that your competition never airs any Ads from your competitors, until you 'approve' it. 3, with your deep pockets ensure no 'bad' or illegal practices that you are heavily involved in are mentioned anywhere in the media. If any media house airs any, you pull-off your entire media bookings from them until they 'shika adabu'! 4. Buy the entire usable bandwidth from TEAMS without using it, simply to starve your competition until they surrender. 4. Buy the entire stock of your competitions 'bottles' to make sure they keep on manufacturing news ones every time as opposed to simply recycling them. 5. Ensure that no mobile phone provider pre-loads any competing app to your core apps, whether they are sold on your network on not! If they do, you simply cancel all their orders and voila, watu wanashika adabu! 6. Ensure no one even dreams of selling dual-sim phones through your network... yeah, this one was hilarious & true!
Point is, Market dominance that ultimately leads to anti-competitive behaviour, which ultimately stifles competition.
Think about it, what-if, just before M-Pesa launched, Airtel Kenya which I think was at par with Safaricom then, called their lobbyist and handed them some seriously loaded brown envelopes to kill of the then nascent mobile money transfer technology, where would we be today?
And that's why I shuddered when Equity came up with the novel idea of using SIM Card overlays, which Safaricom fought tooth and nail to stop, including using serious FUD, the Courts, Government bureaucracy et.al to stop an idea whose time had come!
Equitel was *lucky* to see the next day. You could argue they had deep pockets!
But, what of that kid in campus who comes up with MPesa reloaded, will he survive the onslaught? What if WhatsApp was a Kenyan firm, threatening to take away crucial revenue from SMS from Safaricom as an example?
Would they have been allowed to thrive?
How many 'ICT practitioners' would have come out of the woodwork to claim that this technology was 'unsafe', 'untested', 'unregulated'?
How many media outlets would have covered their success stories without fear of antagonizing their loaded telco customers?
How many phone providers would have dared to be been 'seen' to advertising Whatsapp on their phones?
List goes on & on.
My point is, market dominance without very solid & well implemented anti-competition laws stifles innovation big time.
P.S Every scenario I have picked on, on what I would do if I had a few Bs to smoother my competition is hypothetical and likeness to any real scenario is by mere inter-galactic coincidence :-)
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Job
I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common place today:-
1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems to talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The new Mantra in Business is *Platform Thinking*. I advise you read this article in HBR:-
https://hbr.org/2016/04/pipelines-platforms-and-the-new-rule s-of-strategy
2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the *network effect* (also called *network externality* or *demand-side economies of scale*) is the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of a product or service is dependent on the number of others using it. (Wikipedia)
This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the competition.
Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply didn't go well.
So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in Equity.
That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we all know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the Galaxies align for you.
As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the Game..and change it!! :-)
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,
I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties. Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to open a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with CBA altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have been arm twisted to using them.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Job
Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to their platform without them paying for it? Surely not...
This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those Neanderthals in Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the revolution. Literally.
I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then it's their prerogative.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ngigi,
It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a Safaricom one. If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the telecom market in Kenya.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
> Ngigi > > :-) > > The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how > that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:- > > 1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. > Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain > when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you.. > > 2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k > subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship > they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); > Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving > Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real > competition. And the list goes on. > > 3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to > expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has > Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we > have defined Dominance. > > 4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And > this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up > Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are > the greatest equalizer. > > Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is > generally happy we have nothing to fear. > > *Ali Hussein* > *Principal* > *Hussein & Associates* > +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> > > Twitter: @AliHKassim > > Skype: abu-jomo > > LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim > > "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act > but a habit." ~ Aristotle > > > Sent from my iPad > > On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote: > > Ali, > > The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines > it with Helios stake @Telkom > > Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market > share. > > Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along > big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom > was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right > now! > > What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember > is....... > > THIS IS AFRICA! > On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: > >> Listers >> >> Another one bites the dust? >> >> I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. >> >> Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African >> countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, >> Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, >> Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. >> >> The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those >> markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its >> operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to >> Orange >> <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, >> the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. >> Airtel plans Africa exit >> <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/> >> >> Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory >> environment skewed towards a few players? >> >> *Ali Hussein* >> >> *Principal* >> >> *Hussein & Associates* >> >> >> >> Tel: +254 713 601113 >> >> Twitter: @AliHKassim >> >> Skype: abu-jomo >> >> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim >> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> >> >> >> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, >> >> Chiromo Road, Westlands, >> >> Nairobi, Kenya. >> >> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are >> purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the >> organizations that I work with. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >> >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi% >> 40at.co.ke >> >> 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. >> >
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/bee.aidi%40gmail.com
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.
-- Beryl *********************************************** Darkness cannot put out the Light. It can only make God brighter. —Author Unknown.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
Many thanks Mblayo for your insightfull comments. By the Ali and listers, i heard on Radio Airtel disputing claims that they are planning to exit the African Market. Seems like we are dealing with Fake news or what? Regards On 1/31/17, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hussein,
I agree with you that in a competitive market the stronger will have a certain level of dominance. However in the telecoms industry, and more specifically when we talk about a space with a limited number of issued licenses (call them competitors), things can go very wrong very quickly if an eye isn't kept on a dominant player with significant market power (SMP) which can be abused to produce anti-competitive effects. It is also very necessary to reduce the granularity of analysis almost to the product level as a company can have varying levels of market dominance across different ranges of product offerings, a good example is m-pesa which has already been cited (my guesstimate is that Safaricom has about 98-99% market share in mobile money). Thereafter a composite of the various dominances(sic) across various products lines would probably give a fair idea of the extent to which the company dmoinates overall.
At this point it would be possible to determine whether anti-trust methodologies, regulatory interventions, policy interventions are necessary. At the crux of all of this is the strength (and independence) of the various regulatory authorities (comms regulator, competition authority, revenue authority et al). And of course underpinning all of this is the strength of the policy, legislative and statutory frameworks that govern the space.
IMHO the country is a the mercy of Safaricom's goodwill. All the company needs is a Trump who will strong-arm all of the actors/players into dancing to his/her tune...
My two sumuni,
Mblayo
On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 12:20 AM, Beryl Aidi via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello everyone, Interesting debate. And after all the vibrant debate, explanations and the likely perception of Safaricom as the bad guys or reaping from policies skewed to their advantage, for me the Big Q is why is Airtel exiting other countries as well? Can it be facing the same issues across the board, or could it be simply not understanding the African market altogether? Way back when in the early days, I think they were first to introduce the concept of sharing airtime called Me2U. I might have seen a TV ad or two on NTV and KTN and that was it. Safaricom took the idea, called it Sambaza, advertized where wananchi were and the rest is history. And the same pattern repeated itself in many ways, just knowing how to get people's hearts. Remember the Masai ad? Sometimes the answers are in the simple things.
Best Beryl
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:44 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
My very last take on this....
What you refer to, that the market always corrects itself assumes a pretty fair playing field, in which case, yes!
However, closely associated with market dominance is monopoly tendencies (stolen from Julius Malema), illegal & underhand business practices and *ultimately* anti-competitive behaviours!
Lets look back at Microsoft versus everyone else. While Microsoft wasn't broken up as was initially suggested, they were forced to open up their API for the operating system to ensure that every developer using the Microsoft Windows API got the exact same API.
They were also forced to unbundle IE from the OS. If you remember Windows '98, IE was equivalent to the Windows Shell. You used it upende usipende! What did that do to other browsers, it killed them off one by one!
When they unbundled the browser and gave users a choice on the Windows Platform we got Firefox, Google Chrome et.al.... Innovation
Look to the other side of Microsoft incenstious relationship with Intel forming the formidable WinTel!
Intel at the height of its anti-competitive behaviour paid Dell more than USD 1B *NOT* to use AMD chips which were by then leading in the processors war. Remember AMD gave us 64bit computing way ahead of Intel.
It is not hard to imagine what 'illegal' things one would do if you had a few Billion shillings to spend against your competitors with no anti-competition laws. You could: 1. Pay every mobile agent to make sure they never offer services for other providers apart from yours 2. With you advertising budget running into Bs ensure that your competition never airs any Ads from your competitors, until you 'approve' it. 3, with your deep pockets ensure no 'bad' or illegal practices that you are heavily involved in are mentioned anywhere in the media. If any media house airs any, you pull-off your entire media bookings from them until they 'shika adabu'! 4. Buy the entire usable bandwidth from TEAMS without using it, simply to starve your competition until they surrender. 4. Buy the entire stock of your competitions 'bottles' to make sure they keep on manufacturing news ones every time as opposed to simply recycling them. 5. Ensure that no mobile phone provider pre-loads any competing app to your core apps, whether they are sold on your network on not! If they do, you simply cancel all their orders and voila, watu wanashika adabu! 6. Ensure no one even dreams of selling dual-sim phones through your network... yeah, this one was hilarious & true!
Point is, Market dominance that ultimately leads to anti-competitive behaviour, which ultimately stifles competition.
Think about it, what-if, just before M-Pesa launched, Airtel Kenya which I think was at par with Safaricom then, called their lobbyist and handed them some seriously loaded brown envelopes to kill of the then nascent mobile money transfer technology, where would we be today?
And that's why I shuddered when Equity came up with the novel idea of using SIM Card overlays, which Safaricom fought tooth and nail to stop, including using serious FUD, the Courts, Government bureaucracy et.al to stop an idea whose time had come!
Equitel was *lucky* to see the next day. You could argue they had deep pockets!
But, what of that kid in campus who comes up with MPesa reloaded, will he survive the onslaught? What if WhatsApp was a Kenyan firm, threatening to take away crucial revenue from SMS from Safaricom as an example?
Would they have been allowed to thrive?
How many 'ICT practitioners' would have come out of the woodwork to claim that this technology was 'unsafe', 'untested', 'unregulated'?
How many media outlets would have covered their success stories without fear of antagonizing their loaded telco customers?
How many phone providers would have dared to be been 'seen' to advertising Whatsapp on their phones?
List goes on & on.
My point is, market dominance without very solid & well implemented anti-competition laws stifles innovation big time.
P.S Every scenario I have picked on, on what I would do if I had a few Bs to smoother my competition is hypothetical and likeness to any real scenario is by mere inter-galactic coincidence :-)
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Job
I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common place today:-
1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems to talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The new Mantra in Business is *Platform Thinking*. I advise you read this article in HBR:-
https://hbr.org/2016/04/pipelines-platforms-and-the-new-rule s-of-strategy
2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the *network effect* (also called *network externality* or *demand-side economies of scale*) is the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of a product or service is dependent on the number of others using it. (Wikipedia)
This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the competition.
Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply didn't go well.
So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in Equity.
That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we all know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the Galaxies align for you.
As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the Game..and change it!! :-)
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,
I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties. Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to open a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with CBA altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have been arm twisted to using them.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Job
Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to their platform without them paying for it? Surely not...
This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those Neanderthals in Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the revolution. Literally.
I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then it's their prerogative.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ngigi,
It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a Safaricom one. If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the telecom market in Kenya.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> Ali, > > Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas > as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that > would > qualify for a PHD thesis. > > Here's what I know though: > 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a > choice? > Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with > Windows > '98? Did you have a *choice*? > > 2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, > although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over > 15yrs. > Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 > times > the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say > Airtel? I doubt. > > Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great > injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its > associated > services) on my Airtel line. > > MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third > choice globally after VISA & Mastercard! > > But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa! > > Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if > one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market. > > Rgds > > On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> > wrote: > >> Ngigi >> >> :-) >> >> The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how >> that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:- >> >> 1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to >> watch. >> Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't >> complain >> when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you.. >> >> 2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k >> subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic >> relationship >> they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per >> agreement); >> Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is >> giving >> Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel >> real >> competition. And the list goes on. >> >> 3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to >> expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has >> Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way >> we >> have defined Dominance. >> >> 4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And >> this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to >> break up >> Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free >> Markets are >> the greatest equalizer. >> >> Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is >> generally happy we have nothing to fear. >> >> *Ali Hussein* >> *Principal* >> *Hussein & Associates* >> +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> >> >> Twitter: @AliHKassim >> >> Skype: abu-jomo >> >> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim >> >> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act >> but a habit." ~ Aristotle >> >> >> Sent from my iPad >> >> On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote: >> >> Ali, >> >> The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, >> combines >> it with Helios stake @Telkom >> >> Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable >> market >> share. >> >> Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along >> big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as >> Safaricom >> was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different >> story right >> now! >> >> What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember >> is....... >> >> THIS IS AFRICA! >> On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < >> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >> >>> Listers >>> >>> Another one bites the dust? >>> >>> I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. >>> >>> Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African >>> countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, >>> Congo, >>> Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, >>> Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. >>> >>> The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those >>> markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its >>> operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra >>> Leone to >>> Orange >>> <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, >>> the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. >>> Airtel plans Africa exit >>> <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/> >>> >>> Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory >>> environment skewed towards a few players? >>> >>> *Ali Hussein* >>> >>> *Principal* >>> >>> *Hussein & Associates* >>> >>> >>> >>> Tel: +254 713 601113 >>> >>> Twitter: @AliHKassim >>> >>> Skype: abu-jomo >>> >>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim >>> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> >>> >>> >>> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, >>> >>> Chiromo Road, Westlands, >>> >>> Nairobi, Kenya. >>> >>> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are >>> purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions >>> of the >>> organizations that I work with. >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> kictanet mailing list >>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>> >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi% >>> 40at.co.ke >>> >>> 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. >>> >> > > > -- > *Regards,* > > *Wait**haka Ngigi* > Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod > Building > T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 > <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 > www.at.co.ke > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ > > Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m > ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com > > 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. >
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/bee.aidi%40gmail.com
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.
-- Beryl *********************************************** Darkness cannot put out the Light. It can only make God brighter. —Author Unknown.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
-- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
Brian/Barrack Very true. There could be instances of abuse of Market Power. This doesn't stop us as customers and competitors to point these out. And seeking remedies. There must however be evidence of this and a formal complaint lodged with the Regulator and/or courts. The Chairman of Airtel is the one who started this particular firestorm of Africa Exit at Davos. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-20/airtel-considering-exits-... So no fake news here. Brian, my major concern about Market Dominance is how we define it and execute remedies against its abuse. The assumption that I simply cannot agree with is that Customers are so dumb that they will continue giving Safaricom a bigger and bigger chunk of their share of the wallet because of coercion and lack of choice. We have choices guys. There are a number of player now that are not even telcos that are starting to chip at Safaricom's Dominance when it comes to mobile money..Not to mention the fact that cash is still king? I won't even dwell on the other aspects - voice, data etc. the competition is vibrant and competitors coming out of the woodwork. From places we haven't even fathomed yet. While the other telco competitors are mulling exits and crying foul of skewed playing fields Safaricom is busy sassing out who their next competitors are.. Tafakari hayo (think about that). Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 12:10 AM, Barrack Otieno via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Many thanks Mblayo for your insightfull comments.
By the Ali and listers, i heard on Radio Airtel disputing claims that they are planning to exit the African Market. Seems like we are dealing with Fake news or what?
Regards
On 1/31/17, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hussein,
I agree with you that in a competitive market the stronger will have a certain level of dominance. However in the telecoms industry, and more specifically when we talk about a space with a limited number of issued licenses (call them competitors), things can go very wrong very quickly if an eye isn't kept on a dominant player with significant market power (SMP) which can be abused to produce anti-competitive effects. It is also very necessary to reduce the granularity of analysis almost to the product level as a company can have varying levels of market dominance across different ranges of product offerings, a good example is m-pesa which has already been cited (my guesstimate is that Safaricom has about 98-99% market share in mobile money). Thereafter a composite of the various dominances(sic) across various products lines would probably give a fair idea of the extent to which the company dmoinates overall.
At this point it would be possible to determine whether anti-trust methodologies, regulatory interventions, policy interventions are necessary. At the crux of all of this is the strength (and independence) of the various regulatory authorities (comms regulator, competition authority, revenue authority et al). And of course underpinning all of this is the strength of the policy, legislative and statutory frameworks that govern the space.
IMHO the country is a the mercy of Safaricom's goodwill. All the company needs is a Trump who will strong-arm all of the actors/players into dancing to his/her tune...
My two sumuni,
Mblayo
On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 12:20 AM, Beryl Aidi via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello everyone, Interesting debate. And after all the vibrant debate, explanations and the likely perception of Safaricom as the bad guys or reaping from policies skewed to their advantage, for me the Big Q is why is Airtel exiting other countries as well? Can it be facing the same issues across the board, or could it be simply not understanding the African market altogether? Way back when in the early days, I think they were first to introduce the concept of sharing airtime called Me2U. I might have seen a TV ad or two on NTV and KTN and that was it. Safaricom took the idea, called it Sambaza, advertized where wananchi were and the rest is history. And the same pattern repeated itself in many ways, just knowing how to get people's hearts. Remember the Masai ad? Sometimes the answers are in the simple things.
Best Beryl
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:44 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
My very last take on this....
What you refer to, that the market always corrects itself assumes a pretty fair playing field, in which case, yes!
However, closely associated with market dominance is monopoly tendencies (stolen from Julius Malema), illegal & underhand business practices and *ultimately* anti-competitive behaviours!
Lets look back at Microsoft versus everyone else. While Microsoft wasn't broken up as was initially suggested, they were forced to open up their API for the operating system to ensure that every developer using the Microsoft Windows API got the exact same API.
They were also forced to unbundle IE from the OS. If you remember Windows '98, IE was equivalent to the Windows Shell. You used it upende usipende! What did that do to other browsers, it killed them off one by one!
When they unbundled the browser and gave users a choice on the Windows Platform we got Firefox, Google Chrome et.al.... Innovation
Look to the other side of Microsoft incenstious relationship with Intel forming the formidable WinTel!
Intel at the height of its anti-competitive behaviour paid Dell more than USD 1B *NOT* to use AMD chips which were by then leading in the processors war. Remember AMD gave us 64bit computing way ahead of Intel.
It is not hard to imagine what 'illegal' things one would do if you had a few Billion shillings to spend against your competitors with no anti-competition laws. You could: 1. Pay every mobile agent to make sure they never offer services for other providers apart from yours 2. With you advertising budget running into Bs ensure that your competition never airs any Ads from your competitors, until you 'approve' it. 3, with your deep pockets ensure no 'bad' or illegal practices that you are heavily involved in are mentioned anywhere in the media. If any media house airs any, you pull-off your entire media bookings from them until they 'shika adabu'! 4. Buy the entire usable bandwidth from TEAMS without using it, simply to starve your competition until they surrender. 4. Buy the entire stock of your competitions 'bottles' to make sure they keep on manufacturing news ones every time as opposed to simply recycling them. 5. Ensure that no mobile phone provider pre-loads any competing app to your core apps, whether they are sold on your network on not! If they do, you simply cancel all their orders and voila, watu wanashika adabu! 6. Ensure no one even dreams of selling dual-sim phones through your network... yeah, this one was hilarious & true!
Point is, Market dominance that ultimately leads to anti-competitive behaviour, which ultimately stifles competition.
Think about it, what-if, just before M-Pesa launched, Airtel Kenya which I think was at par with Safaricom then, called their lobbyist and handed them some seriously loaded brown envelopes to kill of the then nascent mobile money transfer technology, where would we be today?
And that's why I shuddered when Equity came up with the novel idea of using SIM Card overlays, which Safaricom fought tooth and nail to stop, including using serious FUD, the Courts, Government bureaucracy et.al to stop an idea whose time had come!
Equitel was *lucky* to see the next day. You could argue they had deep pockets!
But, what of that kid in campus who comes up with MPesa reloaded, will he survive the onslaught? What if WhatsApp was a Kenyan firm, threatening to take away crucial revenue from SMS from Safaricom as an example?
Would they have been allowed to thrive?
How many 'ICT practitioners' would have come out of the woodwork to claim that this technology was 'unsafe', 'untested', 'unregulated'?
How many media outlets would have covered their success stories without fear of antagonizing their loaded telco customers?
How many phone providers would have dared to be been 'seen' to advertising Whatsapp on their phones?
List goes on & on.
My point is, market dominance without very solid & well implemented anti-competition laws stifles innovation big time.
P.S Every scenario I have picked on, on what I would do if I had a few Bs to smoother my competition is hypothetical and likeness to any real scenario is by mere inter-galactic coincidence :-)
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Job
I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common place today:-
1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems to talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The new Mantra in Business is *Platform Thinking*. I advise you read this article in HBR:-
https://hbr.org/2016/04/pipelines-platforms-and-the-new-rule s-of-strategy
2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the *network effect* (also called *network externality* or *demand-side economies of scale*) is the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of a product or service is dependent on the number of others using it. (Wikipedia)
This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the competition.
Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply didn't go well.
So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in Equity.
That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we all know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the Galaxies align for you.
As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the Game..and change it!! :-)
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,
I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties. Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to open a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with CBA altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have been arm twisted to using them.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Job
Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to their platform without them paying for it? Surely not...
This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those Neanderthals in Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the revolution. Literally.
I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then it's their prerogative.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ngigi,
It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a Safaricom one. If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the telecom market in Kenya.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> .....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to > do > a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH.... > > On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: > >> Ali, >> >> Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas >> as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that >> would >> qualify for a PHD thesis. >> >> Here's what I know though: >> 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a >> choice? >> Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with >> Windows >> '98? Did you have a *choice*? >> >> 2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, >> although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over >> 15yrs. >> Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 >> times >> the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say >> Airtel? I doubt. >> >> Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great >> injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its >> associated >> services) on my Airtel line. >> >> MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third >> choice globally after VISA & Mastercard! >> >> But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa! >> >> Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if >> one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market. >> >> Rgds >> >> On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> >> wrote: >> >>> Ngigi >>> >>> :-) >>> >>> The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how >>> that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:- >>> >>> 1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to >>> watch. >>> Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't >>> complain >>> when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you.. >>> >>> 2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k >>> subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic >>> relationship >>> they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per >>> agreement); >>> Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is >>> giving >>> Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel >>> real >>> competition. And the list goes on. >>> >>> 3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to >>> expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has >>> Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way >>> we >>> have defined Dominance. >>> >>> 4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And >>> this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to >>> break up >>> Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free >>> Markets are >>> the greatest equalizer. >>> >>> Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is >>> generally happy we have nothing to fear. >>> >>> *Ali Hussein* >>> *Principal* >>> *Hussein & Associates* >>> +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> >>> >>> Twitter: @AliHKassim >>> >>> Skype: abu-jomo >>> >>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim >>> >>> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act >>> but a habit." ~ Aristotle >>> >>> >>> Sent from my iPad >>> >>> On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote: >>> >>> Ali, >>> >>> The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, >>> combines >>> it with Helios stake @Telkom >>> >>> Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable >>> market >>> share. >>> >>> Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along >>> big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as >>> Safaricom >>> was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different >>> story right >>> now! >>> >>> What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember >>> is....... >>> >>> THIS IS AFRICA! >>> On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < >>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>> >>>> Listers >>>> >>>> Another one bites the dust? >>>> >>>> I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. >>>> >>>> Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African >>>> countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, >>>> Congo, >>>> Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, >>>> Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. >>>> >>>> The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those >>>> markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its >>>> operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra >>>> Leone to >>>> Orange >>>> <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, >>>> the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. >>>> Airtel plans Africa exit >>>> <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/> >>>> >>>> Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory >>>> environment skewed towards a few players? >>>> >>>> *Ali Hussein* >>>> >>>> *Principal* >>>> >>>> *Hussein & Associates* >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Tel: +254 713 601113 >>>> >>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim >>>> >>>> Skype: abu-jomo >>>> >>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim >>>> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> >>>> >>>> >>>> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, >>>> >>>> Chiromo Road, Westlands, >>>> >>>> Nairobi, Kenya. >>>> >>>> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are >>>> purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions >>>> of the >>>> organizations that I work with. >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> kictanet mailing list >>>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>>> >>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi% >>>> 40at.co.ke >>>> >>>> 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. >> >> >> -- >> *Regards,* >> >> *Wait**haka Ngigi* >> Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod >> Building >> T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 >> <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 >> www.at.co.ke >> >> _______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >> >> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >> ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com >> >> 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. > > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ > > Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m > ailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com > > 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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/bee.aidi%40gmail.com
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.
-- Beryl *********************************************** Darkness cannot put out the Light. It can only make God brighter. —Author Unknown.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
-- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
Dear Ali, Solid points. My premise is that Safaricom has a "hypothetical monopoly" in a number of their product lines. In essence, they can increase their prices on these products by 5-10% and customers wouldn't have an alternative supply/supplier. This is the most basic litmus test for market dominance. (My friends from the legal, regulatory and competition vectors can correct me if I err.) It is a sensitive subject and please accept my apology for diverting from the genesis of this thread (Airtel exit) and belaboring the point regarding Safaricom's (alleged) significant market power. I'll rest my case and leave it to the powers that be to determine the best way forward. Yours always, Mblayo On Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 4:02 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Brian/Barrack
Very true. There could be instances of abuse of Market Power. This doesn't stop us as customers and competitors to point these out. And seeking remedies. There must however be evidence of this and a formal complaint lodged with the Regulator and/or courts.
The Chairman of Airtel is the one who started this particular firestorm of Africa Exit at Davos.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-20/ airtel-considering-exits-stake-sales-at-some-africa-operations
So no fake news here.
Brian, my major concern about Market Dominance is how we define it and execute remedies against its abuse. The assumption that I simply cannot agree with is that Customers are so dumb that they will continue giving Safaricom a bigger and bigger chunk of their share of the wallet because of coercion and lack of choice. We have choices guys. There are a number of player now that are not even telcos that are starting to chip at Safaricom's Dominance when it comes to mobile money..Not to mention the fact that cash is still king?
I won't even dwell on the other aspects - voice, data etc. the competition is vibrant and competitors coming out of the woodwork. From places we haven't even fathomed yet.
While the other telco competitors are mulling exits and crying foul of skewed playing fields Safaricom is busy sassing out who their next competitors are..
Tafakari hayo (think about that).
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 12:10 AM, Barrack Otieno via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Many thanks Mblayo for your insightfull comments.
By the Ali and listers, i heard on Radio Airtel disputing claims that they are planning to exit the African Market. Seems like we are dealing with Fake news or what?
Regards
On 1/31/17, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hussein,
I agree with you that in a competitive market the stronger will have a
certain level of dominance. However in the telecoms industry, and more
specifically when we talk about a space with a limited number of issued
licenses (call them competitors), things can go very wrong very quickly if
an eye isn't kept on a dominant player with significant market power (SMP)
which can be abused to produce anti-competitive effects. It is also very
necessary to reduce the granularity of analysis almost to the product level
as a company can have varying levels of market dominance across different
ranges of product offerings, a good example is m-pesa which has already
been cited (my guesstimate is that Safaricom has about 98-99% market share
in mobile money). Thereafter a composite of the various dominances(sic)
across various products lines would probably give a fair idea of the extent
to which the company dmoinates overall.
At this point it would be possible to determine whether anti-trust
methodologies, regulatory interventions, policy interventions are
necessary. At the crux of all of this is the strength (and independence) of
the various regulatory authorities (comms regulator, competition authority,
revenue authority et al). And of course underpinning all of this is the
strength of the policy, legislative and statutory frameworks that govern
the space.
IMHO the country is a the mercy of Safaricom's goodwill. All the company
needs is a Trump who will strong-arm all of the actors/players into dancing
to his/her tune...
My two sumuni,
Mblayo
On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 12:20 AM, Beryl Aidi via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello everyone,
Interesting debate. And after all the vibrant debate, explanations and
the
likely perception of Safaricom as the bad guys or reaping from policies
skewed to their advantage, for me the Big Q is why is Airtel exiting
other
countries as well? Can it be facing the same issues across the board, or
could it be simply not understanding the African market altogether?
Way back when in the early days, I think they were first to introduce the
concept of sharing airtime called Me2U. I might have seen a TV ad or two
on
NTV and KTN and that was it. Safaricom took the idea, called it Sambaza,
advertized where wananchi were and the rest is history. And the same
pattern repeated itself in many ways, just knowing how to get people's
hearts. Remember the Masai ad?
Sometimes the answers are in the simple things.
Best
Beryl
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:44 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
My very last take on this....
What you refer to, that the market always corrects itself assumes a
pretty fair playing field, in which case, yes!
However, closely associated with market dominance is monopoly tendencies
(stolen from Julius Malema), illegal & underhand business practices and
*ultimately* anti-competitive behaviours!
Lets look back at Microsoft versus everyone else. While Microsoft wasn't
broken up as was initially suggested, they were forced to open up their
API
for the operating system to ensure that every developer using the
Microsoft
Windows API got the exact same API.
They were also forced to unbundle IE from the OS. If you remember
Windows
'98, IE was equivalent to the Windows Shell. You used it upende
usipende!
What did that do to other browsers, it killed them off one by one!
When they unbundled the browser and gave users a choice on the Windows
Platform we got Firefox, Google Chrome et.al.... Innovation
Look to the other side of Microsoft incenstious relationship with Intel
forming the formidable WinTel!
Intel at the height of its anti-competitive behaviour paid Dell more
than
USD 1B *NOT* to use AMD chips which were by then leading in the
processors
war. Remember AMD gave us 64bit computing way ahead of Intel.
It is not hard to imagine what 'illegal' things one would do if you had
a
few Billion shillings to spend against your competitors with no
anti-competition laws. You could:
1. Pay every mobile agent to make sure they never offer services for
other providers apart from yours
2. With you advertising budget running into Bs ensure that your
competition never airs any Ads from your competitors, until you
'approve'
it.
3, with your deep pockets ensure no 'bad' or illegal practices that you
are heavily involved in are mentioned anywhere in the media. If any
media
house airs any, you pull-off your entire media bookings from them until
they 'shika adabu'!
4. Buy the entire usable bandwidth from TEAMS without using it, simply
to
starve your competition until they surrender.
4. Buy the entire stock of your competitions 'bottles' to make sure they
keep on manufacturing news ones every time as opposed to simply
recycling
them.
5. Ensure that no mobile phone provider pre-loads any competing app to
your core apps, whether they are sold on your network on not! If they
do,
you simply cancel all their orders and voila, watu wanashika adabu!
6. Ensure no one even dreams of selling dual-sim phones through your
network... yeah, this one was hilarious & true!
Point is, Market dominance that ultimately leads to anti-competitive
behaviour, which ultimately stifles competition.
Think about it, what-if, just before M-Pesa launched, Airtel Kenya which
I think was at par with Safaricom then, called their lobbyist and handed
them some seriously loaded brown envelopes to kill of the then nascent
mobile money transfer technology, where would we be today?
And that's why I shuddered when Equity came up with the novel idea of
using SIM Card overlays, which Safaricom fought tooth and nail to stop,
including using serious FUD, the Courts, Government bureaucracy et.al
to stop an idea whose time had come!
Equitel was *lucky* to see the next day. You could argue they had deep
pockets!
But, what of that kid in campus who comes up with MPesa reloaded, will
he
survive the onslaught? What if WhatsApp was a Kenyan firm, threatening
to
take away crucial revenue from SMS from Safaricom as an example?
Would they have been allowed to thrive?
How many 'ICT practitioners' would have come out of the woodwork to
claim
that this technology was 'unsafe', 'untested', 'unregulated'?
How many media outlets would have covered their success stories without
fear of antagonizing their loaded telco customers?
How many phone providers would have dared to be been 'seen' to
advertising Whatsapp on their phones?
List goes on & on.
My point is, market dominance without very solid & well implemented
anti-competition laws stifles innovation big time.
P.S
Every scenario I have picked on, on what I would do if I had a few Bs to
smoother my competition is hypothetical and likeness to any real
scenario
is by mere inter-galactic coincidence :-)
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Job
I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common
place today:-
1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems
to
talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that
doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The
new
Mantra in Business is *Platform Thinking*. I advise you read this
article in HBR:-
https://hbr.org/2016/04/pipelines-platforms-and-the-new-rule
s-of-strategy
2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the *network effect*
(also
called *network externality* or *demand-side economies of scale*) is
the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that
product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of
a
product or service is dependent on the number of others using it.
(Wikipedia)
This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the
competition.
Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom
initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply
didn't
go well.
So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or
unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today
Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in
Equity.
That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to
align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we
all
know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the
Galaxies align for you.
As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the
Game..and change it!! :-)
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
+254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but
a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,
I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties.
Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank
with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to
open
a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with
CBA
altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have
been
arm twisted to using them.
Regards,
Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>
wrote:
Job
Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to
their platform without them paying for it? Surely not...
This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in
Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those
Neanderthals in
Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the
revolution.
Literally.
I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very
good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is
something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then
it's
their prerogative.
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
+254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act
but
a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ngigi,
It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never
understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a
Safaricom one.
If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would
be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to
M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the
telecom market in Kenya.
Regards,
Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to
do
a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas
as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that
would
qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though:
1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a
choice?
Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with
Windows
'98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom,
although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over
15yrs.
Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4
times
the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say
Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great
injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its
associated
services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third
choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if
one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>
wrote:
Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how
that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to
watch.
Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't
complain
when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k
subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic
relationship
they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per
agreement);
Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is
giving
Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel
real
competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to
expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has
Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way
we
have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And
this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to
break up
Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free
Markets are
the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is
generally happy we have nothing to fear.
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
+254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act
but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya,
combines
it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable
market
share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along
big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as
Safaricom
was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different
story right
now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember
is.......
THIS IS AFRICA!
On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African
countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad,
Congo,
Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda,
Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those
markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its
operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra
Leone to
Orange
<http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa- despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>,
the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa.
Airtel plans Africa exit
<http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory
environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are
purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions
of the
organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%
40at.co.ke
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.
--
*Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi*
Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod
Building
T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061>
<+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000
www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m
ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m
ailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m
ailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m
ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
--
*Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi*
Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod
Building
T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> <+254%20716%20201061>
| M +254 737 811 000
www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m
ailman/options/kictanet/bee.aidi%40gmail.com
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.
--
Beryl
***********************************************
Darkness cannot put out the Light. It can only make God brighter.
—Author
Unknown.
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/
mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
-- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 <+254%20721%20325277> +254733206359 <+254%20733%20206359> Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
Brian Let me latch on to that word Hypothetical. :-) According to the English Dictionary this means:- 'Supposed but not necessarily real or true' Need I say more? :-) Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 10:42 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Ali,
Solid points. My premise is that Safaricom has a "hypothetical monopoly" in a number of their product lines. In essence, they can increase their prices on these products by 5-10% and customers wouldn't have an alternative supply/supplier. This is the most basic litmus test for market dominance. (My friends from the legal, regulatory and competition vectors can correct me if I err.) It is a sensitive subject and please accept my apology for diverting from the genesis of this thread (Airtel exit) and belaboring the point regarding Safaricom's (alleged) significant market power. I'll rest my case and leave it to the powers that be to determine the best way forward.
Yours always,
Mblayo
On Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 4:02 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Brian/Barrack
Very true. There could be instances of abuse of Market Power. This doesn't stop us as customers and competitors to point these out. And seeking remedies. There must however be evidence of this and a formal complaint lodged with the Regulator and/or courts.
The Chairman of Airtel is the one who started this particular firestorm of Africa Exit at Davos.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-20/airtel-considering-exits-...
So no fake news here.
Brian, my major concern about Market Dominance is how we define it and execute remedies against its abuse. The assumption that I simply cannot agree with is that Customers are so dumb that they will continue giving Safaricom a bigger and bigger chunk of their share of the wallet because of coercion and lack of choice. We have choices guys. There are a number of player now that are not even telcos that are starting to chip at Safaricom's Dominance when it comes to mobile money..Not to mention the fact that cash is still king?
I won't even dwell on the other aspects - voice, data etc. the competition is vibrant and competitors coming out of the woodwork. From places we haven't even fathomed yet.
While the other telco competitors are mulling exits and crying foul of skewed playing fields Safaricom is busy sassing out who their next competitors are..
Tafakari hayo (think about that).
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 12:10 AM, Barrack Otieno via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Many thanks Mblayo for your insightfull comments.
By the Ali and listers, i heard on Radio Airtel disputing claims that they are planning to exit the African Market. Seems like we are dealing with Fake news or what?
Regards
On 1/31/17, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hussein,
I agree with you that in a competitive market the stronger will have a certain level of dominance. However in the telecoms industry, and more specifically when we talk about a space with a limited number of issued licenses (call them competitors), things can go very wrong very quickly if an eye isn't kept on a dominant player with significant market power (SMP) which can be abused to produce anti-competitive effects. It is also very necessary to reduce the granularity of analysis almost to the product level as a company can have varying levels of market dominance across different ranges of product offerings, a good example is m-pesa which has already been cited (my guesstimate is that Safaricom has about 98-99% market share in mobile money). Thereafter a composite of the various dominances(sic) across various products lines would probably give a fair idea of the extent to which the company dmoinates overall.
At this point it would be possible to determine whether anti-trust methodologies, regulatory interventions, policy interventions are necessary. At the crux of all of this is the strength (and independence) of the various regulatory authorities (comms regulator, competition authority, revenue authority et al). And of course underpinning all of this is the strength of the policy, legislative and statutory frameworks that govern the space.
IMHO the country is a the mercy of Safaricom's goodwill. All the company needs is a Trump who will strong-arm all of the actors/players into dancing to his/her tune...
My two sumuni,
Mblayo
On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 12:20 AM, Beryl Aidi via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello everyone, Interesting debate. And after all the vibrant debate, explanations and the likely perception of Safaricom as the bad guys or reaping from policies skewed to their advantage, for me the Big Q is why is Airtel exiting other countries as well? Can it be facing the same issues across the board, or could it be simply not understanding the African market altogether? Way back when in the early days, I think they were first to introduce the concept of sharing airtime called Me2U. I might have seen a TV ad or two on NTV and KTN and that was it. Safaricom took the idea, called it Sambaza, advertized where wananchi were and the rest is history. And the same pattern repeated itself in many ways, just knowing how to get people's hearts. Remember the Masai ad? Sometimes the answers are in the simple things.
Best Beryl
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:44 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
My very last take on this....
What you refer to, that the market always corrects itself assumes a pretty fair playing field, in which case, yes!
However, closely associated with market dominance is monopoly tendencies (stolen from Julius Malema), illegal & underhand business practices and *ultimately* anti-competitive behaviours!
Lets look back at Microsoft versus everyone else. While Microsoft wasn't broken up as was initially suggested, they were forced to open up their API for the operating system to ensure that every developer using the Microsoft Windows API got the exact same API.
They were also forced to unbundle IE from the OS. If you remember Windows '98, IE was equivalent to the Windows Shell. You used it upende usipende! What did that do to other browsers, it killed them off one by one!
When they unbundled the browser and gave users a choice on the Windows Platform we got Firefox, Google Chrome et.al.... Innovation
Look to the other side of Microsoft incenstious relationship with Intel forming the formidable WinTel!
Intel at the height of its anti-competitive behaviour paid Dell more than USD 1B *NOT* to use AMD chips which were by then leading in the processors war. Remember AMD gave us 64bit computing way ahead of Intel.
It is not hard to imagine what 'illegal' things one would do if you had a few Billion shillings to spend against your competitors with no anti-competition laws. You could: 1. Pay every mobile agent to make sure they never offer services for other providers apart from yours 2. With you advertising budget running into Bs ensure that your competition never airs any Ads from your competitors, until you 'approve' it. 3, with your deep pockets ensure no 'bad' or illegal practices that you are heavily involved in are mentioned anywhere in the media. If any media house airs any, you pull-off your entire media bookings from them until they 'shika adabu'! 4. Buy the entire usable bandwidth from TEAMS without using it, simply to starve your competition until they surrender. 4. Buy the entire stock of your competitions 'bottles' to make sure they keep on manufacturing news ones every time as opposed to simply recycling them. 5. Ensure that no mobile phone provider pre-loads any competing app to your core apps, whether they are sold on your network on not! If they do, you simply cancel all their orders and voila, watu wanashika adabu! 6. Ensure no one even dreams of selling dual-sim phones through your network... yeah, this one was hilarious & true!
Point is, Market dominance that ultimately leads to anti-competitive behaviour, which ultimately stifles competition.
Think about it, what-if, just before M-Pesa launched, Airtel Kenya which I think was at par with Safaricom then, called their lobbyist and handed them some seriously loaded brown envelopes to kill of the then nascent mobile money transfer technology, where would we be today?
And that's why I shuddered when Equity came up with the novel idea of using SIM Card overlays, which Safaricom fought tooth and nail to stop, including using serious FUD, the Courts, Government bureaucracy et.al to stop an idea whose time had come!
Equitel was *lucky* to see the next day. You could argue they had deep pockets!
But, what of that kid in campus who comes up with MPesa reloaded, will he survive the onslaught? What if WhatsApp was a Kenyan firm, threatening to take away crucial revenue from SMS from Safaricom as an example?
Would they have been allowed to thrive?
How many 'ICT practitioners' would have come out of the woodwork to claim that this technology was 'unsafe', 'untested', 'unregulated'?
How many media outlets would have covered their success stories without fear of antagonizing their loaded telco customers?
How many phone providers would have dared to be been 'seen' to advertising Whatsapp on their phones?
List goes on & on.
My point is, market dominance without very solid & well implemented anti-competition laws stifles innovation big time.
P.S Every scenario I have picked on, on what I would do if I had a few Bs to smoother my competition is hypothetical and likeness to any real scenario is by mere inter-galactic coincidence :-)
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> Job > > I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common > place today:- > > 1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems > to > talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that > doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The > new > Mantra in Business is *Platform Thinking*. I advise you read this > article in HBR:- > > https://hbr.org/2016/04/pipelines-platforms-and-the-new-rule > s-of-strategy > > 2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the *network effect* > (also > called *network externality* or *demand-side economies of scale*) is > the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that > product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of > a > product or service is dependent on the number of others using it. > (Wikipedia) > > This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the > competition. > > Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom > initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply > didn't > go well. > > So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or > unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today > Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in > Equity. > > That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to > align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we > all > know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the > Galaxies align for you. > > As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the > Game..and change it!! :-) > > *Ali Hussein* > *Principal* > *Hussein & Associates* > +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> > > Twitter: @AliHKassim > > Skype: abu-jomo > > LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim > > "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but > a habit." ~ Aristotle > > > Sent from my iPad > > On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote: > > Ali, > > I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties. > Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank > with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to > open > a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with > CBA > altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have > been > arm twisted to using them. > > > Regards, > Job Muriuki, > > Skype: heviejob > > > > > On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> > wrote: > >> Job >> >> Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to >> their platform without them paying for it? Surely not... >> >> This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in >> Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those >> Neanderthals in >> Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the >> revolution. >> Literally. >> >> I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very >> good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is >> something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then >> it's >> their prerogative. >> >> *Ali Hussein* >> *Principal* >> *Hussein & Associates* >> +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> >> >> Twitter: @AliHKassim >> >> Skype: abu-jomo >> >> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim >> >> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act >> but >> a habit." ~ Aristotle >> >> >> Sent from my iPad >> >> On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < >> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >> >> Ngigi, >> >> It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never >> understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a >> Safaricom one. >> If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would >> be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to >> M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the >> telecom market in Kenya. >> >> >> Regards, >> Job Muriuki, >> >> Skype: heviejob >> >> >> >> >> On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < >> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >> >>> .....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to >>> do >>> a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH.... >>> >>> On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < >>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>> >>>> Ali, >>>> >>>> Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas >>>> as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that >>>> would >>>> qualify for a PHD thesis. >>>> >>>> Here's what I know though: >>>> 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a >>>> choice? >>>> Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with >>>> Windows >>>> '98? Did you have a *choice*? >>>> >>>> 2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, >>>> although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over >>>> 15yrs. >>>> Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 >>>> times >>>> the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say >>>> Airtel? I doubt. >>>> >>>> Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great >>>> injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its >>>> associated >>>> services) on my Airtel line. >>>> >>>> MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third >>>> choice globally after VISA & Mastercard! >>>> >>>> But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa! >>>> >>>> Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if >>>> one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market. >>>> >>>> Rgds >>>> >>>> On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Ngigi >>>>> >>>>> :-) >>>>> >>>>> The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how >>>>> that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:- >>>>> >>>>> 1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to >>>>> watch. >>>>> Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't >>>>> complain >>>>> when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you.. >>>>> >>>>> 2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k >>>>> subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic >>>>> relationship >>>>> they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per >>>>> agreement); >>>>> Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is >>>>> giving >>>>> Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel >>>>> real >>>>> competition. And the list goes on. >>>>> >>>>> 3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to >>>>> expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has >>>>> Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way >>>>> we >>>>> have defined Dominance. >>>>> >>>>> 4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And >>>>> this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to >>>>> break up >>>>> Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free >>>>> Markets are >>>>> the greatest equalizer. >>>>> >>>>> Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is >>>>> generally happy we have nothing to fear. >>>>> >>>>> *Ali Hussein* >>>>> *Principal* >>>>> *Hussein & Associates* >>>>> +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> >>>>> >>>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim >>>>> >>>>> Skype: abu-jomo >>>>> >>>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim >>>>> >>>>> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act >>>>> but a habit." ~ Aristotle >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Sent from my iPad >>>>> >>>>> On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Ali, >>>>> >>>>> The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, >>>>> combines >>>>> it with Helios stake @Telkom >>>>> >>>>> Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable >>>>> market >>>>> share. >>>>> >>>>> Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along >>>>> big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as >>>>> Safaricom >>>>> was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different >>>>> story right >>>>> now! >>>>> >>>>> What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember >>>>> is....... >>>>> >>>>> THIS IS AFRICA! >>>>> On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < >>>>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Listers >>>>>> >>>>>> Another one bites the dust? >>>>>> >>>>>> I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. >>>>>> >>>>>> Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African >>>>>> countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, >>>>>> Congo, >>>>>> Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, >>>>>> Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. >>>>>> >>>>>> The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those >>>>>> markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its >>>>>> operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra >>>>>> Leone to >>>>>> Orange >>>>>> <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, >>>>>> the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. >>>>>> Airtel plans Africa exit >>>>>> <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/> >>>>>> >>>>>> Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory >>>>>> environment skewed towards a few players? >>>>>> >>>>>> *Ali Hussein* >>>>>> >>>>>> *Principal* >>>>>> >>>>>> *Hussein & Associates* >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Tel: +254 713 601113 >>>>>> >>>>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim >>>>>> >>>>>> Skype: abu-jomo >>>>>> >>>>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim >>>>>> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, >>>>>> >>>>>> Chiromo Road, Westlands, >>>>>> >>>>>> Nairobi, Kenya. >>>>>> >>>>>> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are >>>>>> purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions >>>>>> of the >>>>>> organizations that I work with. >>>>>> >>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>> kictanet mailing list >>>>>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>>>>> >>>>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi% >>>>>> 40at.co.ke >>>>>> >>>>>> 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. >>>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> *Regards,* >>>> >>>> *Wait**haka Ngigi* >>>> Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod >>>> Building >>>> T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 >>>> <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 >>>> www.at.co.ke >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> kictanet mailing list >>>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>>> >>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >>>> ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com >>>> >>>> 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. >>>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> kictanet mailing list >>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>> >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >>> ailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com >>> >>> 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. >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >> >> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >> ailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com >> >> 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. >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ > > Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m > ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke > > 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. >
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/bee.aidi%40gmail.com
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.
-- Beryl *********************************************** Darkness cannot put out the Light. It can only make God brighter. —Author Unknown.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
-- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
@Ali, In academics, a hypothesis has an equal chance of being true or false. It is upon the regulator, competitors, subscribers and/ or any other interested to subject the hypothesis through a test - by collecting appropriate evidence and subsequently testing the hypothesis. The fact that no one has done this, or is yet to carry out the test, should not imply that the hypothesis is false. Tafakari hayo :-) Anyway, we shall further interrogate this and many other mobile network questions soon (GG?) when KICTAnet will moderate a 1week session titled 'Talk-2-Safaricom'. Stay tuned. walu. From: Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 1:06 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel Plans Africa Exit Brian Let me latch on to that word Hypothetical. :-) According to the English Dictionary this means:- 'Supposed but not necessarily real or true' Need I say more? :-) Ali HusseinPrincipalHussein & Associates+254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassimSkype: abu-jomoLinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 1 Feb 2017, at 10:42 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe@gmail.com> wrote: Dear Ali, Solid points. My premise is that Safaricom has a "hypothetical monopoly" in a number of their product lines. In essence, they can increase their prices on these products by 5-10% and customers wouldn't have an alternative supply/supplier. This is the most basic litmus test for market dominance. (My friends from the legal, regulatory and competition vectors can correct me if I err.) It is a sensitive subject and please accept my apology for diverting from the genesis of this thread (Airtel exit) and belaboring the point regarding Safaricom's (alleged) significant market power. I'll rest my case and leave it to the powers that be to determine the best way forward. Yours always, Mblayo On Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 4:02 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Brian/Barrack Very true. There could be instances of abuse of Market Power. This doesn't stop us as customers and competitors to point these out. And seeking remedies. There must however be evidence of this and a formal complaint lodged with the Regulator and/or courts. The Chairman of Airtel is the one who started this particular firestorm of Africa Exit at Davos. https://www.bloomberg.com/ news/articles/2017-01-20/ airtel-considering-exits- stake-sales-at-some-africa- operations So no fake news here. Brian, my major concern about Market Dominance is how we define it and execute remedies against its abuse. The assumption that I simply cannot agree with is that Customers are so dumb that they will continue giving Safaricom a bigger and bigger chunk of their share of the wallet because of coercion and lack of choice. We have choices guys. There are a number of player now that are not even telcos that are starting to chip at Safaricom's Dominance when it comes to mobile money..Not to mention the fact that cash is still king? I won't even dwell on the other aspects - voice, data etc. the competition is vibrant and competitors coming out of the woodwork. From places we haven't even fathomed yet. While the other telco competitors are mulling exits and crying foul of skewed playing fields Safaricom is busy sassing out who their next competitors are.. Tafakari hayo (think about that). Ali HusseinPrincipalHussein & Associates+254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassimSkype: abu-jomoLinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin. com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 1 Feb 2017, at 12:10 AM, Barrack Otieno via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote: Many thanks Mblayo for your insightfull comments. By the Ali and listers, i heard on Radio Airtel disputing claims that they are planning to exit the African Market. Seems like we are dealing with Fake news or what? Regards On 1/31/17, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote: Hussein, I agree with you that in a competitive market the stronger will have a certain level of dominance. However in the telecoms industry, and more specifically when we talk about a space with a limited number of issued licenses (call them competitors), things can go very wrong very quickly if an eye isn't kept on a dominant player with significant market power (SMP) which can be abused to produce anti-competitive effects. It is also very necessary to reduce the granularity of analysis almost to the product level as a company can have varying levels of market dominance across different ranges of product offerings, a good example is m-pesa which has already been cited (my guesstimate is that Safaricom has about 98-99% market share in mobile money). Thereafter a composite of the various dominances(sic) across various products lines would probably give a fair idea of the extent to which the company dmoinates overall. At this point it would be possible to determine whether anti-trust methodologies, regulatory interventions, policy interventions are necessary. At the crux of all of this is the strength (and independence) of the various regulatory authorities (comms regulator, competition authority, revenue authority et al). And of course underpinning all of this is the strength of the policy, legislative and statutory frameworks that govern the space. IMHO the country is a the mercy of Safaricom's goodwill. All the company needs is a Trump who will strong-arm all of the actors/players into dancing to his/her tune... My two sumuni, Mblayo On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 12:20 AM, Beryl Aidi via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Hello everyone, Interesting debate. And after all the vibrant debate, explanations and the likely perception of Safaricom as the bad guys or reaping from policies skewed to their advantage, for me the Big Q is why is Airtel exiting other countries as well? Can it be facing the same issues across the board, or could it be simply not understanding the African market altogether? Way back when in the early days, I think they were first to introduce the concept of sharing airtime called Me2U. I might have seen a TV ad or two on NTV and KTN and that was it. Safaricom took the idea, called it Sambaza, advertized where wananchi were and the rest is history. And the same pattern repeated itself in many ways, just knowing how to get people's hearts. Remember the Masai ad? Sometimes the answers are in the simple things. Best Beryl On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:44 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Ali, My very last take on this.... What you refer to, that the market always corrects itself assumes a pretty fair playing field, in which case, yes! However, closely associated with market dominance is monopoly tendencies (stolen from Julius Malema), illegal & underhand business practices and *ultimately* anti-competitive behaviours! Lets look back at Microsoft versus everyone else. While Microsoft wasn't broken up as was initially suggested, they were forced to open up their API for the operating system to ensure that every developer using the Microsoft Windows API got the exact same API. They were also forced to unbundle IE from the OS. If you remember Windows '98, IE was equivalent to the Windows Shell. You used it upende usipende! What did that do to other browsers, it killed them off one by one! When they unbundled the browser and gave users a choice on the Windows Platform we got Firefox, Google Chrome et.al.... Innovation Look to the other side of Microsoft incenstious relationship with Intel forming the formidable WinTel! Intel at the height of its anti-competitive behaviour paid Dell more than USD 1B *NOT* to use AMD chips which were by then leading in the processors war. Remember AMD gave us 64bit computing way ahead of Intel. It is not hard to imagine what 'illegal' things one would do if you had a few Billion shillings to spend against your competitors with no anti-competition laws. You could: 1. Pay every mobile agent to make sure they never offer services for other providers apart from yours 2. With you advertising budget running into Bs ensure that your competition never airs any Ads from your competitors, until you 'approve' it. 3, with your deep pockets ensure no 'bad' or illegal practices that you are heavily involved in are mentioned anywhere in the media. If any media house airs any, you pull-off your entire media bookings from them until they 'shika adabu'! 4. Buy the entire usable bandwidth from TEAMS without using it, simply to starve your competition until they surrender. 4. Buy the entire stock of your competitions 'bottles' to make sure they keep on manufacturing news ones every time as opposed to simply recycling them. 5. Ensure that no mobile phone provider pre-loads any competing app to your core apps, whether they are sold on your network on not! If they do, you simply cancel all their orders and voila, watu wanashika adabu! 6. Ensure no one even dreams of selling dual-sim phones through your network... yeah, this one was hilarious & true! Point is, Market dominance that ultimately leads to anti-competitive behaviour, which ultimately stifles competition. Think about it, what-if, just before M-Pesa launched, Airtel Kenya which I think was at par with Safaricom then, called their lobbyist and handed them some seriously loaded brown envelopes to kill of the then nascent mobile money transfer technology, where would we be today? And that's why I shuddered when Equity came up with the novel idea of using SIM Card overlays, which Safaricom fought tooth and nail to stop, including using serious FUD, the Courts, Government bureaucracy et.al to stop an idea whose time had come! Equitel was *lucky* to see the next day. You could argue they had deep pockets! But, what of that kid in campus who comes up with MPesa reloaded, will he survive the onslaught? What if WhatsApp was a Kenyan firm, threatening to take away crucial revenue from SMS from Safaricom as an example? Would they have been allowed to thrive? How many 'ICT practitioners' would have come out of the woodwork to claim that this technology was 'unsafe', 'untested', 'unregulated'? How many media outlets would have covered their success stories without fear of antagonizing their loaded telco customers? How many phone providers would have dared to be been 'seen' to advertising Whatsapp on their phones? List goes on & on. My point is, market dominance without very solid & well implemented anti-competition laws stifles innovation big time. P.S Every scenario I have picked on, on what I would do if I had a few Bs to smoother my competition is hypothetical and likeness to any real scenario is by mere inter-galactic coincidence :-) Rgds On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Job I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common place today:- 1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems to talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The new Mantra in Business is *Platform Thinking*. I advise you read this article in HBR:- https://hbr.org/2016/04/ pipelines-platforms-and-the- new-rule s-of-strategy 2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the *network effect* (also called *network externality* or *demand-side economies of scale*) is the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of a product or service is dependent on the number of others using it. (Wikipedia) This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the competition. Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply didn't go well. So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in Equity. That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we all know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the Galaxies align for you. As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the Game..and change it!! :-) *Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote: Ali, I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties. Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to open a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with CBA altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have been arm twisted to using them. Regards, Job Muriuki, Skype: heviejob On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Job Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to their platform without them paying for it? Surely not... This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those Neanderthals in Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the revolution. Literally. I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then it's their prerogative. *Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Ngigi, It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a Safaricom one. If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the telecom market in Kenya. Regards, Job Muriuki, Skype: heviejob On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: .....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH.... On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Ali, Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis. Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*? 2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt. Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line. MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard! But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa! Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market. Rgds On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Ngigi :-) The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:- 1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you.. 2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on. 3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance. 4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer. Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear. *Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote: Ali, The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share. Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now! What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is....... THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Listers Another one bites the dust? I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/ airtel-not-exiting-africa- despite-talks-to-sell-4- networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/ airtel-exit-nigeria-13- african-countries/> Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players? *Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya. Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with. ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ ngigi% 40at.co.ke 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. -- *Regards,* *Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ blongwe%40gmail.com 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. ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ muriukin%40gmail.com 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. ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/info%4 0alyhussein.com 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. ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi% 40at.co.ke 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. -- *Regards,* *Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/bee. aidi%40gmail.com 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. -- Beryl ****************************** ***************** Darkness cannot put out the Light. It can only make God brighter. —Author Unknown. ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ blongwe%40gmail.com 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. -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/info% 40alyhussein.com 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. ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ blongwe%40gmail.com 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. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com 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.
@Walu Kizungu kilikuja na meli...Na hakikusimama Mombasa...(English came by sea..and unfortunately it didn't stop in Mombasa where I was born) :-) Still..I thought we were talking hypothetical not hypothesis... :-) Are they the same? Rescue guys.. Besides which we aren't talking Academics here are we? It's real Fari Fari..(cash) :-) Having said that I do agree with you Walu. We need to see that Dominance report right about now.. Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 2:29 PM, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
@Ali,
In academics, a hypothesis has an equal chance of being true or false.
It is upon the regulator, competitors, subscribers and/ or any other interested to subject the hypothesis through a test - by collecting appropriate evidence and subsequently testing the hypothesis.
The fact that no one has done this, or is yet to carry out the test, should not imply that the hypothesis is false. Tafakari hayo :-)
Anyway, we shall further interrogate this and many other mobile network questions soon (GG?) when KICTAnet will moderate a 1week session titled 'Talk-2-Safaricom'.
Stay tuned.
walu.
From: Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 1:06 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel Plans Africa Exit
Brian
Let me latch on to that word Hypothetical. :-)
According to the English Dictionary this means:-
'Supposed but not necessarily real or true'
Need I say more? :-)
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 10:42 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Ali,
Solid points. My premise is that Safaricom has a "hypothetical monopoly" in a number of their product lines. In essence, they can increase their prices on these products by 5-10% and customers wouldn't have an alternative supply/supplier. This is the most basic litmus test for market dominance. (My friends from the legal, regulatory and competition vectors can correct me if I err.) It is a sensitive subject and please accept my apology for diverting from the genesis of this thread (Airtel exit) and belaboring the point regarding Safaricom's (alleged) significant market power. I'll rest my case and leave it to the powers that be to determine the best way forward.
Yours always,
Mblayo
On Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 4:02 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Brian/Barrack
Very true. There could be instances of abuse of Market Power. This doesn't stop us as customers and competitors to point these out. And seeking remedies. There must however be evidence of this and a formal complaint lodged with the Regulator and/or courts.
The Chairman of Airtel is the one who started this particular firestorm of Africa Exit at Davos.
https://www.bloomberg.com/ news/articles/2017-01-20/ airtel-considering-exits- stake-sales-at-some-africa- operations
So no fake news here.
Brian, my major concern about Market Dominance is how we define it and execute remedies against its abuse. The assumption that I simply cannot agree with is that Customers are so dumb that they will continue giving Safaricom a bigger and bigger chunk of their share of the wallet because of coercion and lack of choice. We have choices guys. There are a number of player now that are not even telcos that are starting to chip at Safaricom's Dominance when it comes to mobile money..Not to mention the fact that cash is still king?
I won't even dwell on the other aspects - voice, data etc. the competition is vibrant and competitors coming out of the woodwork. From places we haven't even fathomed yet.
While the other telco competitors are mulling exits and crying foul of skewed playing fields Safaricom is busy sassing out who their next competitors are..
Tafakari hayo (think about that).
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin. com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 12:10 AM, Barrack Otieno via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:
Many thanks Mblayo for your insightfull comments.
By the Ali and listers, i heard on Radio Airtel disputing claims that they are planning to exit the African Market. Seems like we are dealing with Fake news or what?
Regards
On 1/31/17, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:
Hussein,
I agree with you that in a competitive market the stronger will have a certain level of dominance. However in the telecoms industry, and more specifically when we talk about a space with a limited number of issued licenses (call them competitors), things can go very wrong very quickly if an eye isn't kept on a dominant player with significant market power (SMP) which can be abused to produce anti-competitive effects. It is also very necessary to reduce the granularity of analysis almost to the product level as a company can have varying levels of market dominance across different ranges of product offerings, a good example is m-pesa which has already been cited (my guesstimate is that Safaricom has about 98-99% market share in mobile money). Thereafter a composite of the various dominances(sic) across various products lines would probably give a fair idea of the extent to which the company dmoinates overall.
At this point it would be possible to determine whether anti-trust methodologies, regulatory interventions, policy interventions are necessary. At the crux of all of this is the strength (and independence) of the various regulatory authorities (comms regulator, competition authority, revenue authority et al). And of course underpinning all of this is the strength of the policy, legislative and statutory frameworks that govern the space.
IMHO the country is a the mercy of Safaricom's goodwill. All the company needs is a Trump who will strong-arm all of the actors/players into dancing to his/her tune...
My two sumuni,
Mblayo
On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 12:20 AM, Beryl Aidi via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello everyone, Interesting debate. And after all the vibrant debate, explanations and the likely perception of Safaricom as the bad guys or reaping from policies skewed to their advantage, for me the Big Q is why is Airtel exiting other countries as well? Can it be facing the same issues across the board, or could it be simply not understanding the African market altogether? Way back when in the early days, I think they were first to introduce the concept of sharing airtime called Me2U. I might have seen a TV ad or two on NTV and KTN and that was it. Safaricom took the idea, called it Sambaza, advertized where wananchi were and the rest is history. And the same pattern repeated itself in many ways, just knowing how to get people's hearts. Remember the Masai ad? Sometimes the answers are in the simple things.
Best Beryl
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:44 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
My very last take on this....
What you refer to, that the market always corrects itself assumes a pretty fair playing field, in which case, yes!
However, closely associated with market dominance is monopoly tendencies (stolen from Julius Malema), illegal & underhand business practices and *ultimately* anti-competitive behaviours!
Lets look back at Microsoft versus everyone else. While Microsoft wasn't broken up as was initially suggested, they were forced to open up their API for the operating system to ensure that every developer using the Microsoft Windows API got the exact same API.
They were also forced to unbundle IE from the OS. If you remember Windows '98, IE was equivalent to the Windows Shell. You used it upende usipende! What did that do to other browsers, it killed them off one by one!
When they unbundled the browser and gave users a choice on the Windows Platform we got Firefox, Google Chrome et.al.... Innovation
Look to the other side of Microsoft incenstious relationship with Intel forming the formidable WinTel!
Intel at the height of its anti-competitive behaviour paid Dell more than USD 1B *NOT* to use AMD chips which were by then leading in the processors war. Remember AMD gave us 64bit computing way ahead of Intel.
It is not hard to imagine what 'illegal' things one would do if you had a few Billion shillings to spend against your competitors with no anti-competition laws. You could: 1. Pay every mobile agent to make sure they never offer services for other providers apart from yours 2. With you advertising budget running into Bs ensure that your competition never airs any Ads from your competitors, until you 'approve' it. 3, with your deep pockets ensure no 'bad' or illegal practices that you are heavily involved in are mentioned anywhere in the media. If any media house airs any, you pull-off your entire media bookings from them until they 'shika adabu'! 4. Buy the entire usable bandwidth from TEAMS without using it, simply to starve your competition until they surrender. 4. Buy the entire stock of your competitions 'bottles' to make sure they keep on manufacturing news ones every time as opposed to simply recycling them. 5. Ensure that no mobile phone provider pre-loads any competing app to your core apps, whether they are sold on your network on not! If they do, you simply cancel all their orders and voila, watu wanashika adabu! 6. Ensure no one even dreams of selling dual-sim phones through your network... yeah, this one was hilarious & true!
Point is, Market dominance that ultimately leads to anti-competitive behaviour, which ultimately stifles competition.
Think about it, what-if, just before M-Pesa launched, Airtel Kenya which I think was at par with Safaricom then, called their lobbyist and handed them some seriously loaded brown envelopes to kill of the then nascent mobile money transfer technology, where would we be today?
And that's why I shuddered when Equity came up with the novel idea of using SIM Card overlays, which Safaricom fought tooth and nail to stop, including using serious FUD, the Courts, Government bureaucracy et.al to stop an idea whose time had come!
Equitel was *lucky* to see the next day. You could argue they had deep pockets!
But, what of that kid in campus who comes up with MPesa reloaded, will he survive the onslaught? What if WhatsApp was a Kenyan firm, threatening to take away crucial revenue from SMS from Safaricom as an example?
Would they have been allowed to thrive?
How many 'ICT practitioners' would have come out of the woodwork to claim that this technology was 'unsafe', 'untested', 'unregulated'?
How many media outlets would have covered their success stories without fear of antagonizing their loaded telco customers?
How many phone providers would have dared to be been 'seen' to advertising Whatsapp on their phones?
List goes on & on.
My point is, market dominance without very solid & well implemented anti-competition laws stifles innovation big time.
P.S Every scenario I have picked on, on what I would do if I had a few Bs to smoother my competition is hypothetical and likeness to any real scenario is by mere inter-galactic coincidence :-)
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> Job > > I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common > place today:- > > 1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems > to > talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that > doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The > new > Mantra in Business is *Platform Thinking*. I advise you read this > article in HBR:- > > https://hbr.org/2016/04/ pipelines-platforms-and-the- new-rule > s-of-strategy > > 2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the *network effect* > (also > called *network externality* or *demand-side economies of scale*) is > the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that > product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of > a > product or service is dependent on the number of others using it. > (Wikipedia) > > This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the > competition. > > Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom > initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply > didn't > go well. > > So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or > unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today > Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in > Equity. > > That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to > align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we > all > know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the > Galaxies align for you. > > As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the > Game..and change it!! :-) > > *Ali Hussein* > *Principal* > *Hussein & Associates* > +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> > > Twitter: @AliHKassim > > Skype: abu-jomo > > LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim > > "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but > a habit." ~ Aristotle > > > Sent from my iPad > > On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote: > > Ali, > > I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties. > Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank > with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to > open > a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with > CBA > altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have > been > arm twisted to using them. > > > Regards, > Job Muriuki, > > Skype: heviejob > > > > > On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> > wrote: > >> Job >> >> Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to >> their platform without them paying for it? Surely not... >> >> This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in >> Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those >> Neanderthals in >> Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the >> revolution. >> Literally. >> >> I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very >> good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is >> something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then >> it's >> their prerogative. >> >> *Ali Hussein* >> *Principal* >> *Hussein & Associates* >> +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> >> >> Twitter: @AliHKassim >> >> Skype: abu-jomo >> >> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim >> >> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act >> but >> a habit." ~ Aristotle >> >> >> Sent from my iPad >> >> On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < >> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >> >> Ngigi, >> >> It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never >> understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a >> Safaricom one. >> If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would >> be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to >> M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the >> telecom market in Kenya. >> >> >> Regards, >> Job Muriuki, >> >> Skype: heviejob >> >> >> >> >> On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < >> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >> >>> .....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to >>> do >>> a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH.... >>> >>> On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < >>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>> >>>> Ali, >>>> >>>> Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas >>>> as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that >>>> would >>>> qualify for a PHD thesis. >>>> >>>> Here's what I know though: >>>> 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a >>>> choice? >>>> Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with >>>> Windows >>>> '98? Did you have a *choice*? >>>> >>>> 2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, >>>> although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over >>>> 15yrs. >>>> Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 >>>> times >>>> the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say >>>> Airtel? I doubt. >>>> >>>> Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great >>>> injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its >>>> associated >>>> services) on my Airtel line. >>>> >>>> MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third >>>> choice globally after VISA & Mastercard! >>>> >>>> But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa! >>>> >>>> Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if >>>> one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market. >>>> >>>> Rgds >>>> >>>> On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Ngigi >>>>> >>>>> :-) >>>>> >>>>> The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how >>>>> that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:- >>>>> >>>>> 1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to >>>>> watch. >>>>> Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't >>>>> complain >>>>> when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you.. >>>>> >>>>> 2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k >>>>> subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic >>>>> relationship >>>>> they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per >>>>> agreement); >>>>> Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is >>>>> giving >>>>> Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel >>>>> real >>>>> competition. And the list goes on. >>>>> >>>>> 3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to >>>>> expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has >>>>> Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way >>>>> we >>>>> have defined Dominance. >>>>> >>>>> 4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And >>>>> this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to >>>>> break up >>>>> Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free >>>>> Markets are >>>>> the greatest equalizer. >>>>> >>>>> Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is >>>>> generally happy we have nothing to fear. >>>>> >>>>> *Ali Hussein* >>>>> *Principal* >>>>> *Hussein & Associates* >>>>> +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> >>>>> >>>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim >>>>> >>>>> Skype: abu-jomo >>>>> >>>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim >>>>> >>>>> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act >>>>> but a habit." ~ Aristotle >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Sent from my iPad >>>>> >>>>> On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Ali, >>>>> >>>>> The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, >>>>> combines >>>>> it with Helios stake @Telkom >>>>> >>>>> Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable >>>>> market >>>>> share. >>>>> >>>>> Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along >>>>> big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as >>>>> Safaricom >>>>> was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different >>>>> story right >>>>> now! >>>>> >>>>> What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember >>>>> is....... >>>>> >>>>> THIS IS AFRICA! >>>>> On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < >>>>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Listers >>>>>> >>>>>> Another one bites the dust? >>>>>> >>>>>> I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. >>>>>> >>>>>> Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African >>>>>> countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, >>>>>> Congo, >>>>>> Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, >>>>>> Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. >>>>>> >>>>>> The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those >>>>>> markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its >>>>>> operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra >>>>>> Leone to >>>>>> Orange >>>>>> <http://mobilityarena.com/ airtel-not-exiting-africa- despite-talks-to-sell-4- networks-to-orange/>, >>>>>> the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. >>>>>> Airtel plans Africa exit >>>>>> <http://mobilityarena.com/ airtel-exit-nigeria-13- african-countries/> >>>>>> >>>>>> Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory >>>>>> environment skewed towards a few players? >>>>>> >>>>>> *Ali Hussein* >>>>>> >>>>>> *Principal* >>>>>> >>>>>> *Hussein & Associates* >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Tel: +254 713 601113 >>>>>> >>>>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim >>>>>> >>>>>> Skype: abu-jomo >>>>>> >>>>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim >>>>>> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, >>>>>> >>>>>> Chiromo Road, Westlands, >>>>>> >>>>>> Nairobi, Kenya. >>>>>> >>>>>> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are >>>>>> purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions >>>>>> of the >>>>>> organizations that I work with. >>>>>> >>>>>> ______________________________ _________________ >>>>>> kictanet mailing list >>>>>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ >>>>>> >>>>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ ngigi% >>>>>> 40at.co.ke >>>>>> >>>>>> 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. >>>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> *Regards,* >>>> >>>> *Wait**haka Ngigi* >>>> Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod >>>> Building >>>> T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 >>>> <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 >>>> www.at.co.ke >>>> >>>> ______________________________ _________________ >>>> kictanet mailing list >>>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ >>>> >>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >>>> ailman/options/kictanet/ blongwe%40gmail.com >>>> >>>> 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. >>>> >>> >>> >>> ______________________________ _________________ >>> kictanet mailing list >>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ >>> >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >>> ailman/options/kictanet/ muriukin%40gmail.com >>> >>> 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. >>> >> >> ______________________________ _________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ >> >> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >> ailman/options/kictanet/info%4 0alyhussein.com >> >> 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. >> >> > > ______________________________ _________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet > Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ > > Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m > ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi% 40at.co.ke > > 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. >
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/bee. aidi%40gmail.com
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.
-- Beryl ****************************** ***************** Darkness cannot put out the Light. It can only make God brighter. —Author Unknown.
______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
-- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/info% 40alyhussein.com
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.
______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com
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.
@Ali, I will try and explain and bill you later (since I know you can pay). A Hypothesis is a test-able hunch or if you want, a test-able statement e.g "I am pregnant" or 'My son is clever' or "Safaricom is dominant". These are all testable statements i.e. they are all examples of a hypothesis and they can turn out to be either true or false. How can we tell if they are true or false? You design and set up an experiment. And then run some tests. Pregnancy Tests, IQ Tests are widely known tests that are used to resolve the first two hypothesis - with minimal disputes :-) The Communication Authority must design similar tests to establish if Safcom is dominant. It may not be rocket science, but as Mblayo insinuated, it is not an easy discussion to have - unless you are hide behind tons of international consultant studies :-). walu. From: Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> To: Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 4:30 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel Plans Africa Exit - of dominance etc @Walu Kizungu kilikuja na meli...Na hakikusimama Mombasa...(English came by sea..and unfortunately it didn't stop in Mombasa where I was born) :-) Still..I thought we were talking hypothetical not hypothesis... :-) Are they the same? Rescue guys.. Besides which we aren't talking Academics here are we? It's real Fari Fari..(cash) :-) Having said that I do agree with you Walu. We need to see that Dominance report right about now.. Ali HusseinPrincipalHussein & Associates+254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassimSkype: abu-jomoLinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 1 Feb 2017, at 2:29 PM, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote: @Ali, In academics, a hypothesis has an equal chance of being true or false. It is upon the regulator, competitors, subscribers and/ or any other interested to subject the hypothesis through a test - by collecting appropriate evidence and subsequently testing the hypothesis. The fact that no one has done this, or is yet to carry out the test, should not imply that the hypothesis is false. Tafakari hayo :-) Anyway, we shall further interrogate this and many other mobile network questions soon (GG?) when KICTAnet will moderate a 1week session titled 'Talk-2-Safaricom'. Stay tuned. walu. From: Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 1:06 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel Plans Africa Exit Brian Let me latch on to that word Hypothetical. :-) According to the English Dictionary this means:- 'Supposed but not necessarily real or true' Need I say more? :-) Ali HusseinPrincipalHussein & Associates+254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassimSkype: abu-jomoLinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 1 Feb 2017, at 10:42 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe@gmail.com> wrote: Dear Ali, Solid points. My premise is that Safaricom has a "hypothetical monopoly" in a number of their product lines. In essence, they can increase their prices on these products by 5-10% and customers wouldn't have an alternative supply/supplier. This is the most basic litmus test for market dominance. (My friends from the legal, regulatory and competition vectors can correct me if I err.) It is a sensitive subject and please accept my apology for diverting from the genesis of this thread (Airtel exit) and belaboring the point regarding Safaricom's (alleged) significant market power. I'll rest my case and leave it to the powers that be to determine the best way forward. Yours always, Mblayo On Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 4:02 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Brian/Barrack Very true. There could be instances of abuse of Market Power. This doesn't stop us as customers and competitors to point these out. And seeking remedies. There must however be evidence of this and a formal complaint lodged with the Regulator and/or courts. The Chairman of Airtel is the one who started this particular firestorm of Africa Exit at Davos. https://www.bloomberg.com/ news/articles/2017-01-20/ airtel-considering-exits- stake-sales-at-some-africa- operations So no fake news here. Brian, my major concern about Market Dominance is how we define it and execute remedies against its abuse. The assumption that I simply cannot agree with is that Customers are so dumb that they will continue giving Safaricom a bigger and bigger chunk of their share of the wallet because of coercion and lack of choice. We have choices guys. There are a number of player now that are not even telcos that are starting to chip at Safaricom's Dominance when it comes to mobile money..Not to mention the fact that cash is still king? I won't even dwell on the other aspects - voice, data etc. the competition is vibrant and competitors coming out of the woodwork. From places we haven't even fathomed yet. While the other telco competitors are mulling exits and crying foul of skewed playing fields Safaricom is busy sassing out who their next competitors are.. Tafakari hayo (think about that). Ali HusseinPrincipalHussein & Associates+254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassimSkype: abu-jomoLinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin. com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 1 Feb 2017, at 12:10 AM, Barrack Otieno via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote: Many thanks Mblayo for your insightfull comments. By the Ali and listers, i heard on Radio Airtel disputing claims that they are planning to exit the African Market. Seems like we are dealing with Fake news or what? Regards On 1/31/17, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote: Hussein, I agree with you that in a competitive market the stronger will have a certain level of dominance. However in the telecoms industry, and more specifically when we talk about a space with a limited number of issued licenses (call them competitors), things can go very wrong very quickly if an eye isn't kept on a dominant player with significant market power (SMP) which can be abused to produce anti-competitive effects. It is also very necessary to reduce the granularity of analysis almost to the product level as a company can have varying levels of market dominance across different ranges of product offerings, a good example is m-pesa which has already been cited (my guesstimate is that Safaricom has about 98-99% market share in mobile money). Thereafter a composite of the various dominances(sic) across various products lines would probably give a fair idea of the extent to which the company dmoinates overall. At this point it would be possible to determine whether anti-trust methodologies, regulatory interventions, policy interventions are necessary. At the crux of all of this is the strength (and independence) of the various regulatory authorities (comms regulator, competition authority, revenue authority et al). And of course underpinning all of this is the strength of the policy, legislative and statutory frameworks that govern the space. IMHO the country is a the mercy of Safaricom's goodwill. All the company needs is a Trump who will strong-arm all of the actors/players into dancing to his/her tune... My two sumuni, Mblayo On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 12:20 AM, Beryl Aidi via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Hello everyone, Interesting debate. And after all the vibrant debate, explanations and the likely perception of Safaricom as the bad guys or reaping from policies skewed to their advantage, for me the Big Q is why is Airtel exiting other countries as well? Can it be facing the same issues across the board, or could it be simply not understanding the African market altogether? Way back when in the early days, I think they were first to introduce the concept of sharing airtime called Me2U. I might have seen a TV ad or two on NTV and KTN and that was it. Safaricom took the idea, called it Sambaza, advertized where wananchi were and the rest is history. And the same pattern repeated itself in many ways, just knowing how to get people's hearts. Remember the Masai ad? Sometimes the answers are in the simple things. Best Beryl On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:44 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Ali, My very last take on this.... What you refer to, that the market always corrects itself assumes a pretty fair playing field, in which case, yes! However, closely associated with market dominance is monopoly tendencies (stolen from Julius Malema), illegal & underhand business practices and *ultimately* anti-competitive behaviours! Lets look back at Microsoft versus everyone else. While Microsoft wasn't broken up as was initially suggested, they were forced to open up their API for the operating system to ensure that every developer using the Microsoft Windows API got the exact same API. They were also forced to unbundle IE from the OS. If you remember Windows '98, IE was equivalent to the Windows Shell. You used it upende usipende! What did that do to other browsers, it killed them off one by one! When they unbundled the browser and gave users a choice on the Windows Platform we got Firefox, Google Chrome et.al.... Innovation Look to the other side of Microsoft incenstious relationship with Intel forming the formidable WinTel! Intel at the height of its anti-competitive behaviour paid Dell more than USD 1B *NOT* to use AMD chips which were by then leading in the processors war. Remember AMD gave us 64bit computing way ahead of Intel. It is not hard to imagine what 'illegal' things one would do if you had a few Billion shillings to spend against your competitors with no anti-competition laws. You could: 1. Pay every mobile agent to make sure they never offer services for other providers apart from yours 2. With you advertising budget running into Bs ensure that your competition never airs any Ads from your competitors, until you 'approve' it. 3, with your deep pockets ensure no 'bad' or illegal practices that you are heavily involved in are mentioned anywhere in the media. If any media house airs any, you pull-off your entire media bookings from them until they 'shika adabu'! 4. Buy the entire usable bandwidth from TEAMS without using it, simply to starve your competition until they surrender. 4. Buy the entire stock of your competitions 'bottles' to make sure they keep on manufacturing news ones every time as opposed to simply recycling them. 5. Ensure that no mobile phone provider pre-loads any competing app to your core apps, whether they are sold on your network on not! If they do, you simply cancel all their orders and voila, watu wanashika adabu! 6. Ensure no one even dreams of selling dual-sim phones through your network... yeah, this one was hilarious & true! Point is, Market dominance that ultimately leads to anti-competitive behaviour, which ultimately stifles competition. Think about it, what-if, just before M-Pesa launched, Airtel Kenya which I think was at par with Safaricom then, called their lobbyist and handed them some seriously loaded brown envelopes to kill of the then nascent mobile money transfer technology, where would we be today? And that's why I shuddered when Equity came up with the novel idea of using SIM Card overlays, which Safaricom fought tooth and nail to stop, including using serious FUD, the Courts, Government bureaucracy et.al to stop an idea whose time had come! Equitel was *lucky* to see the next day. You could argue they had deep pockets! But, what of that kid in campus who comes up with MPesa reloaded, will he survive the onslaught? What if WhatsApp was a Kenyan firm, threatening to take away crucial revenue from SMS from Safaricom as an example? Would they have been allowed to thrive? How many 'ICT practitioners' would have come out of the woodwork to claim that this technology was 'unsafe', 'untested', 'unregulated'? How many media outlets would have covered their success stories without fear of antagonizing their loaded telco customers? How many phone providers would have dared to be been 'seen' to advertising Whatsapp on their phones? List goes on & on. My point is, market dominance without very solid & well implemented anti-competition laws stifles innovation big time. P.S Every scenario I have picked on, on what I would do if I had a few Bs to smoother my competition is hypothetical and likeness to any real scenario is by mere inter-galactic coincidence :-) Rgds On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Job I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common place today:- 1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems to talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The new Mantra in Business is *Platform Thinking*. I advise you read this article in HBR:- https://hbr.org/2016/04/ pipelines-platforms-and-the- new-rule s-of-strategy 2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the *network effect* (also called *network externality* or *demand-side economies of scale*) is the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of a product or service is dependent on the number of others using it. (Wikipedia) This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the competition. Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply didn't go well. So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in Equity. That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we all know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the Galaxies align for you. As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the Game..and change it!! :-) *Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote: Ali, I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties. Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to open a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with CBA altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have been arm twisted to using them. Regards, Job Muriuki, Skype: heviejob On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Job Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to their platform without them paying for it? Surely not... This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those Neanderthals in Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the revolution. Literally. I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then it's their prerogative. *Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Ngigi, It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a Safaricom one. If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the telecom market in Kenya. Regards, Job Muriuki, Skype: heviejob On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: .....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH.... On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Ali, Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis. Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*? 2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt. Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line. MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard! But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa! Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market. Rgds On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Ngigi :-) The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:- 1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you.. 2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on. 3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance. 4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer. Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear. *Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote: Ali, The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share. Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now! What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is....... THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Listers Another one bites the dust? I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/ airtel-not-exiting-africa- despite-talks-to-sell-4- networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/ airtel-exit-nigeria-13- african-countries/> Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players? *Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya. Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with. ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ ngigi% 40at.co.ke 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. -- *Regards,* *Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ blongwe%40gmail.com 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. ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ muriukin%40gmail.com 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. ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/info%4 0alyhussein.com 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. ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi% 40at.co.ke 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. -- *Regards,* *Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/bee. aidi%40gmail.com 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. -- Beryl ****************************** ***************** Darkness cannot put out the Light. It can only make God brighter. —Author Unknown. ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ blongwe%40gmail.com 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. -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/info% 40alyhussein.com 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. ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ blongwe%40gmail.com 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. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com 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.
@Walu I stand educated Ndugu.. :-) Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 4:55 PM, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
@Ali,
I will try and explain and bill you later (since I know you can pay).
A Hypothesis is a test-able hunch or if you want, a test-able statement e.g "I am pregnant" or 'My son is clever' or "Safaricom is dominant". These are all testable statements i.e. they are all examples of a hypothesis and they can turn out to be either true or false.
How can we tell if they are true or false?
You design and set up an experiment. And then run some tests. Pregnancy Tests, IQ Tests are widely known tests that are used to resolve the first two hypothesis - with minimal disputes :-)
The Communication Authority must design similar tests to establish if Safcom is dominant. It may not be rocket science, but as Mblayo insinuated, it is not an easy discussion to have - unless you are hide behind tons of international consultant studies :-).
walu.
From: Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> To: Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 4:30 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel Plans Africa Exit - of dominance etc
@Walu
Kizungu kilikuja na meli...Na hakikusimama Mombasa...(English came by sea..and unfortunately it didn't stop in Mombasa where I was born) :-)
Still..I thought we were talking hypothetical not hypothesis... :-) Are they the same? Rescue guys..
Besides which we aren't talking Academics here are we? It's real Fari Fari..(cash) :-)
Having said that I do agree with you Walu. We need to see that Dominance report right about now..
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 2:29 PM, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
@Ali,
In academics, a hypothesis has an equal chance of being true or false.
It is upon the regulator, competitors, subscribers and/ or any other interested to subject the hypothesis through a test - by collecting appropriate evidence and subsequently testing the hypothesis.
The fact that no one has done this, or is yet to carry out the test, should not imply that the hypothesis is false. Tafakari hayo :-)
Anyway, we shall further interrogate this and many other mobile network questions soon (GG?) when KICTAnet will moderate a 1week session titled 'Talk-2-Safaricom'.
Stay tuned.
walu.
From: Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 1:06 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel Plans Africa Exit
Brian
Let me latch on to that word Hypothetical. :-)
According to the English Dictionary this means:-
'Supposed but not necessarily real or true'
Need I say more? :-)
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 10:42 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Ali,
Solid points. My premise is that Safaricom has a "hypothetical monopoly" in a number of their product lines. In essence, they can increase their prices on these products by 5-10% and customers wouldn't have an alternative supply/supplier. This is the most basic litmus test for market dominance. (My friends from the legal, regulatory and competition vectors can correct me if I err.) It is a sensitive subject and please accept my apology for diverting from the genesis of this thread (Airtel exit) and belaboring the point regarding Safaricom's (alleged) significant market power. I'll rest my case and leave it to the powers that be to determine the best way forward.
Yours always,
Mblayo
On Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 4:02 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Brian/Barrack
Very true. There could be instances of abuse of Market Power. This doesn't stop us as customers and competitors to point these out. And seeking remedies. There must however be evidence of this and a formal complaint lodged with the Regulator and/or courts.
The Chairman of Airtel is the one who started this particular firestorm of Africa Exit at Davos.
https://www.bloomberg.com/ news/articles/2017-01-20/ airtel-considering-exits- stake-sales-at-some-africa- operations
So no fake news here.
Brian, my major concern about Market Dominance is how we define it and execute remedies against its abuse. The assumption that I simply cannot agree with is that Customers are so dumb that they will continue giving Safaricom a bigger and bigger chunk of their share of the wallet because of coercion and lack of choice. We have choices guys. There are a number of player now that are not even telcos that are starting to chip at Safaricom's Dominance when it comes to mobile money..Not to mention the fact that cash is still king?
I won't even dwell on the other aspects - voice, data etc. the competition is vibrant and competitors coming out of the woodwork. From places we haven't even fathomed yet.
While the other telco competitors are mulling exits and crying foul of skewed playing fields Safaricom is busy sassing out who their next competitors are..
Tafakari hayo (think about that).
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin. com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 12:10 AM, Barrack Otieno via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:
Many thanks Mblayo for your insightfull comments.
By the Ali and listers, i heard on Radio Airtel disputing claims that they are planning to exit the African Market. Seems like we are dealing with Fake news or what?
Regards
On 1/31/17, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:
Hussein,
I agree with you that in a competitive market the stronger will have a certain level of dominance. However in the telecoms industry, and more specifically when we talk about a space with a limited number of issued licenses (call them competitors), things can go very wrong very quickly if an eye isn't kept on a dominant player with significant market power (SMP) which can be abused to produce anti-competitive effects. It is also very necessary to reduce the granularity of analysis almost to the product level as a company can have varying levels of market dominance across different ranges of product offerings, a good example is m-pesa which has already been cited (my guesstimate is that Safaricom has about 98-99% market share in mobile money). Thereafter a composite of the various dominances(sic) across various products lines would probably give a fair idea of the extent to which the company dmoinates overall.
At this point it would be possible to determine whether anti-trust methodologies, regulatory interventions, policy interventions are necessary. At the crux of all of this is the strength (and independence) of the various regulatory authorities (comms regulator, competition authority, revenue authority et al). And of course underpinning all of this is the strength of the policy, legislative and statutory frameworks that govern the space.
IMHO the country is a the mercy of Safaricom's goodwill. All the company needs is a Trump who will strong-arm all of the actors/players into dancing to his/her tune...
My two sumuni,
Mblayo
On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 12:20 AM, Beryl Aidi via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello everyone, Interesting debate. And after all the vibrant debate, explanations and the likely perception of Safaricom as the bad guys or reaping from policies skewed to their advantage, for me the Big Q is why is Airtel exiting other countries as well? Can it be facing the same issues across the board, or could it be simply not understanding the African market altogether? Way back when in the early days, I think they were first to introduce the concept of sharing airtime called Me2U. I might have seen a TV ad or two on NTV and KTN and that was it. Safaricom took the idea, called it Sambaza, advertized where wananchi were and the rest is history. And the same pattern repeated itself in many ways, just knowing how to get people's hearts. Remember the Masai ad? Sometimes the answers are in the simple things.
Best Beryl
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:44 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> Ali, > > My very last take on this.... > > What you refer to, that the market always corrects itself assumes a > pretty fair playing field, in which case, yes! > > However, closely associated with market dominance is monopoly tendencies > (stolen from Julius Malema), illegal & underhand business practices and > *ultimately* anti-competitive behaviours! > > Lets look back at Microsoft versus everyone else. While Microsoft wasn't > broken up as was initially suggested, they were forced to open up their > API > for the operating system to ensure that every developer using the > Microsoft > Windows API got the exact same API. > > They were also forced to unbundle IE from the OS. If you remember > Windows > '98, IE was equivalent to the Windows Shell. You used it upende > usipende! > What did that do to other browsers, it killed them off one by one! > > When they unbundled the browser and gave users a choice on the Windows > Platform we got Firefox, Google Chrome et.al.... Innovation > > Look to the other side of Microsoft incenstious relationship with Intel > forming the formidable WinTel! > > Intel at the height of its anti-competitive behaviour paid Dell more > than > USD 1B *NOT* to use AMD chips which were by then leading in the > processors > war. Remember AMD gave us 64bit computing way ahead of Intel. > > It is not hard to imagine what 'illegal' things one would do if you had > a > few Billion shillings to spend against your competitors with no > anti-competition laws. You could: > 1. Pay every mobile agent to make sure they never offer services for > other providers apart from yours > 2. With you advertising budget running into Bs ensure that your > competition never airs any Ads from your competitors, until you > 'approve' > it. > 3, with your deep pockets ensure no 'bad' or illegal practices that you > are heavily involved in are mentioned anywhere in the media. If any > media > house airs any, you pull-off your entire media bookings from them until > they 'shika adabu'! > 4. Buy the entire usable bandwidth from TEAMS without using it, simply > to > starve your competition until they surrender. > 4. Buy the entire stock of your competitions 'bottles' to make sure they > keep on manufacturing news ones every time as opposed to simply > recycling > them. > 5. Ensure that no mobile phone provider pre-loads any competing app to > your core apps, whether they are sold on your network on not! If they > do, > you simply cancel all their orders and voila, watu wanashika adabu! > 6. Ensure no one even dreams of selling dual-sim phones through your > network... yeah, this one was hilarious & true! > > Point is, Market dominance that ultimately leads to anti-competitive > behaviour, which ultimately stifles competition. > > Think about it, what-if, just before M-Pesa launched, Airtel Kenya which > I think was at par with Safaricom then, called their lobbyist and handed > them some seriously loaded brown envelopes to kill of the then nascent > mobile money transfer technology, where would we be today? > > And that's why I shuddered when Equity came up with the novel idea of > using SIM Card overlays, which Safaricom fought tooth and nail to stop, > including using serious FUD, the Courts, Government bureaucracy et.al > to stop an idea whose time had come! > > Equitel was *lucky* to see the next day. You could argue they had deep > pockets! > > But, what of that kid in campus who comes up with MPesa reloaded, will > he > survive the onslaught? What if WhatsApp was a Kenyan firm, threatening > to > take away crucial revenue from SMS from Safaricom as an example? > > Would they have been allowed to thrive? > > How many 'ICT practitioners' would have come out of the woodwork to > claim > that this technology was 'unsafe', 'untested', 'unregulated'? > > How many media outlets would have covered their success stories without > fear of antagonizing their loaded telco customers? > > How many phone providers would have dared to be been 'seen' to > advertising Whatsapp on their phones? > > List goes on & on. > > My point is, market dominance without very solid & well implemented > anti-competition laws stifles innovation big time. > > P.S > Every scenario I have picked on, on what I would do if I had a few Bs to > smoother my competition is hypothetical and likeness to any real > scenario > is by mere inter-galactic coincidence :-) > > Rgds > > On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: > >> Job >> >> I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common >> place today:- >> >> 1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems >> to >> talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that >> doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The >> new >> Mantra in Business is *Platform Thinking*. I advise you read this >> article in HBR:- >> >> https://hbr.org/2016/04/ pipelines-platforms-and-the- new-rule >> s-of-strategy >> >> 2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the *network effect* >> (also >> called *network externality* or *demand-side economies of scale*) is >> the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that >> product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of >> a >> product or service is dependent on the number of others using it. >> (Wikipedia) >> >> This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the >> competition. >> >> Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom >> initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply >> didn't >> go well. >> >> So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or >> unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today >> Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in >> Equity. >> >> That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to >> align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we >> all >> know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the >> Galaxies align for you. >> >> As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the >> Game..and change it!! :-) >> >> *Ali Hussein* >> *Principal* >> *Hussein & Associates* >> +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> >> >> Twitter: @AliHKassim >> >> Skype: abu-jomo >> >> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim >> >> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but >> a habit." ~ Aristotle >> >> >> Sent from my iPad >> >> On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Ali, >> >> I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties. >> Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank >> with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to >> open >> a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with >> CBA >> altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have >> been >> arm twisted to using them. >> >> >> Regards, >> Job Muriuki, >> >> Skype: heviejob >> >> >> >> >> On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> >> wrote: >> >>> Job >>> >>> Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to >>> their platform without them paying for it? Surely not... >>> >>> This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in >>> Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those >>> Neanderthals in >>> Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the >>> revolution. >>> Literally. >>> >>> I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very >>> good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is >>> something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then >>> it's >>> their prerogative. >>> >>> *Ali Hussein* >>> *Principal* >>> *Hussein & Associates* >>> +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> >>> >>> Twitter: @AliHKassim >>> >>> Skype: abu-jomo >>> >>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim >>> >>> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act >>> but >>> a habit." ~ Aristotle >>> >>> >>> Sent from my iPad >>> >>> On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < >>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>> >>> Ngigi, >>> >>> It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never >>> understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a >>> Safaricom one. >>> If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would >>> be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to >>> M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the >>> telecom market in Kenya. >>> >>> >>> Regards, >>> Job Muriuki, >>> >>> Skype: heviejob >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < >>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>> >>>> .....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to >>>> do >>>> a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH.... >>>> >>>> On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < >>>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Ali, >>>>> >>>>> Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas >>>>> as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that >>>>> would >>>>> qualify for a PHD thesis. >>>>> >>>>> Here's what I know though: >>>>> 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a >>>>> choice? >>>>> Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with >>>>> Windows >>>>> '98? Did you have a *choice*? >>>>> >>>>> 2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, >>>>> although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over >>>>> 15yrs. >>>>> Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 >>>>> times >>>>> the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say >>>>> Airtel? I doubt. >>>>> >>>>> Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great >>>>> injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its >>>>> associated >>>>> services) on my Airtel line. >>>>> >>>>> MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third >>>>> choice globally after VISA & Mastercard! >>>>> >>>>> But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa! >>>>> >>>>> Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if >>>>> one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market. >>>>> >>>>> Rgds >>>>> >>>>> On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> >>>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Ngigi >>>>>> >>>>>> :-) >>>>>> >>>>>> The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how >>>>>> that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:- >>>>>> >>>>>> 1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to >>>>>> watch. >>>>>> Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't >>>>>> complain >>>>>> when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you.. >>>>>> >>>>>> 2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k >>>>>> subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic >>>>>> relationship >>>>>> they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per >>>>>> agreement); >>>>>> Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is >>>>>> giving >>>>>> Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel >>>>>> real >>>>>> competition. And the list goes on. >>>>>> >>>>>> 3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to >>>>>> expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has >>>>>> Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way >>>>>> we >>>>>> have defined Dominance. >>>>>> >>>>>> 4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And >>>>>> this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to >>>>>> break up >>>>>> Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free >>>>>> Markets are >>>>>> the greatest equalizer. >>>>>> >>>>>> Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is >>>>>> generally happy we have nothing to fear. >>>>>> >>>>>> *Ali Hussein* >>>>>> *Principal* >>>>>> *Hussein & Associates* >>>>>> +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> >>>>>> >>>>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim >>>>>> >>>>>> Skype: abu-jomo >>>>>> >>>>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim >>>>>> >>>>>> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act >>>>>> but a habit." ~ Aristotle >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Sent from my iPad >>>>>> >>>>>> On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> Ali, >>>>>> >>>>>> The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, >>>>>> combines >>>>>> it with Helios stake @Telkom >>>>>> >>>>>> Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable >>>>>> market >>>>>> share. >>>>>> >>>>>> Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along >>>>>> big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as >>>>>> Safaricom >>>>>> was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different >>>>>> story right >>>>>> now! >>>>>> >>>>>> What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember >>>>>> is....... >>>>>> >>>>>> THIS IS AFRICA! >>>>>> On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < >>>>>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Listers >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Another one bites the dust? >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African >>>>>>> countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, >>>>>>> Congo, >>>>>>> Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, >>>>>>> Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those >>>>>>> markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its >>>>>>> operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra >>>>>>> Leone to >>>>>>> Orange >>>>>>> <http://mobilityarena.com/ airtel-not-exiting-africa- despite-talks-to-sell-4- networks-to-orange/>, >>>>>>> the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. >>>>>>> Airtel plans Africa exit >>>>>>> <http://mobilityarena.com/ airtel-exit-nigeria-13- african-countries/> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory >>>>>>> environment skewed towards a few players? >>>>>>> >>>>>>> *Ali Hussein* >>>>>>> >>>>>>> *Principal* >>>>>>> >>>>>>> *Hussein & Associates* >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Tel: +254 713 601113 >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Skype: abu-jomo >>>>>>> >>>>>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim >>>>>>> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Chiromo Road, Westlands, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Nairobi, Kenya. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are >>>>>>> purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions >>>>>>> of the >>>>>>> organizations that I work with. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> ______________________________ _________________ >>>>>>> kictanet mailing list >>>>>>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>>>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>>>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ ngigi% >>>>>>> 40at.co.ke >>>>>>> >>>>>>> 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. >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> *Regards,* >>>>> >>>>> *Wait**haka Ngigi* >>>>> Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod >>>>> Building >>>>> T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 >>>>> <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 >>>>> www.at.co.ke >>>>> >>>>> ______________________________ _________________ >>>>> kictanet mailing list >>>>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ >>>>> >>>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >>>>> ailman/options/kictanet/ blongwe%40gmail.com >>>>> >>>>> 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. >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> ______________________________ _________________ >>>> kictanet mailing list >>>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ >>>> >>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >>>> ailman/options/kictanet/ muriukin%40gmail.com >>>> >>>> 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. >>>> >>> >>> ______________________________ _________________ >>> kictanet mailing list >>> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ >>> >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >>> ailman/options/kictanet/info%4 0alyhussein.com >>> >>> 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. >>> >>> >> >> ______________________________ _________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke >> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ >> >> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m >> ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi% 40at.co.ke >> >> 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. >> > > > > -- > *Regards,* > > *Wait**haka Ngigi* > Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod > Building > T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> > | M +254 737 811 000 > www.at.co.ke > > ______________________________ _________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet > Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/ > > Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m > ailman/options/kictanet/bee. aidi%40gmail.com > > 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. >
-- Beryl ****************************** ***************** Darkness cannot put out the Light. It can only make God brighter. —Author Unknown.
______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
-- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/info% 40alyhussein.com
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.
______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com
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.
@ Walu, I think your opinion should be taken very seriously by the relevant regulators! How can we know if something is a miss if we have no way of testing a healthy ecosystem? Right now there is the ostrich with its head buried in the sand approach where as long as we survive with the bare minimum then everything is okay, yet the situation may be dire and a remedy required. Kind regards, Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu Advocate-FinTech and ICT Policy On 1 Feb 2017 16:57, "Walubengo J via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
@Ali,
I will try and explain and bill you later (since I know you can pay).
A Hypothesis is a test-able hunch or if you want, a test-able statement e.g "I am pregnant" or 'My son is clever' or "Safaricom is dominant". These are all testable statements i.e. they are all examples of a hypothesis and they can turn out to be either true or false.
How can we tell if they are true or false?
You design and set up an experiment. And then run some tests. Pregnancy Tests, IQ Tests are widely known tests that are used to resolve the first two hypothesis - with minimal disputes :-)
The Communication Authority must design similar tests to establish if Safcom is dominant. It may not be rocket science, but as Mblayo insinuated, it is not an easy discussion to have - unless you are hide behind tons of international consultant studies :-).
walu.
------------------------------ *From:* Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> *To:* Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> *Sent:* Wednesday, February 1, 2017 4:30 PM *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Airtel Plans Africa Exit - of dominance etc
@Walu
Kizungu kilikuja na meli...Na hakikusimama Mombasa...(English came by sea..and unfortunately it didn't stop in Mombasa where I was born) :-)
Still..I thought we were talking hypothetical not hypothesis... :-) Are they the same? Rescue guys..
Besides which we aren't talking Academics here are we? It's real Fari Fari..(cash) :-)
Having said that I do agree with you Walu. We need to see that Dominance report right about now..
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 2:29 PM, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
@Ali,
In academics, a hypothesis has an equal chance of being true or false.
It is upon the regulator, competitors, subscribers and/ or any other interested to subject the hypothesis through a test - by collecting appropriate evidence and subsequently testing the hypothesis.
The fact that no one has done this, or is yet to carry out the test, should not imply that the hypothesis is false. Tafakari hayo :-)
Anyway, we shall further interrogate this and many other mobile network questions soon (GG?) when KICTAnet will moderate a 1week session titled 'Talk-2-Safaricom'.
Stay tuned.
walu.
------------------------------ *From:* Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> *To:* jwalu@yahoo.com *Cc:* Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> *Sent:* Wednesday, February 1, 2017 1:06 PM *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Airtel Plans Africa Exit
Brian
Let me latch on to that word Hypothetical. :-)
According to the English Dictionary this means:-
*'Supposed but not necessarily real or true'*
Need I say more? :-)
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 10:42 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Ali,
Solid points. My premise is that Safaricom has a "hypothetical monopoly" in a number of their product lines. In essence, they can increase their prices on these products by 5-10% and customers wouldn't have an alternative supply/supplier. This is the most basic litmus test for market dominance. (My friends from the legal, regulatory and competition vectors can correct me if I err.) It is a sensitive subject and please accept my apology for diverting from the genesis of this thread (Airtel exit) and belaboring the point regarding Safaricom's (alleged) significant market power. I'll rest my case and leave it to the powers that be to determine the best way forward.
Yours always,
Mblayo
On Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 4:02 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Brian/Barrack
Very true. There could be instances of abuse of Market Power. This doesn't stop us as customers and competitors to point these out. And seeking remedies. There must however be evidence of this and a formal complaint lodged with the Regulator and/or courts.
The Chairman of Airtel is the one who started this particular firestorm of Africa Exit at Davos.
https://www.bloomberg.com/ news/articles/2017-01-20/ airtel-considering-exits- stake-sales-at-some-africa- operations <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-20/airtel-considering-exits-stake-sales-at-some-africa-operations>
So no fake news here.
Brian, my major concern about Market Dominance is how we define it and execute remedies against its abuse. The assumption that I simply cannot agree with is that Customers are so dumb that they will continue giving Safaricom a bigger and bigger chunk of their share of the wallet because of coercion and lack of choice. We have choices guys. There are a number of player now that are not even telcos that are starting to chip at Safaricom's Dominance when it comes to mobile money..Not to mention the fact that cash is still king?
I won't even dwell on the other aspects - voice, data etc. the competition is vibrant and competitors coming out of the woodwork. From places we haven't even fathomed yet.
While the other telco competitors are mulling exits and crying foul of skewed playing fields Safaricom is busy sassing out who their next competitors are..
Tafakari hayo (think about that).
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin. com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 12:10 AM, Barrack Otieno via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:
Many thanks Mblayo for your insightfull comments.
By the Ali and listers, i heard on Radio Airtel disputing claims that they are planning to exit the African Market. Seems like we are dealing with Fake news or what?
Regards
On 1/31/17, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote:
Hussein,
I agree with you that in a competitive market the stronger will have a
certain level of dominance. However in the telecoms industry, and more
specifically when we talk about a space with a limited number of issued
licenses (call them competitors), things can go very wrong very quickly if
an eye isn't kept on a dominant player with significant market power (SMP)
which can be abused to produce anti-competitive effects. It is also very
necessary to reduce the granularity of analysis almost to the product level
as a company can have varying levels of market dominance across different
ranges of product offerings, a good example is m-pesa which has already
been cited (my guesstimate is that Safaricom has about 98-99% market share
in mobile money). Thereafter a composite of the various dominances(sic)
across various products lines would probably give a fair idea of the extent
to which the company dmoinates overall.
At this point it would be possible to determine whether anti-trust
methodologies, regulatory interventions, policy interventions are
necessary. At the crux of all of this is the strength (and independence) of
the various regulatory authorities (comms regulator, competition authority,
revenue authority et al). And of course underpinning all of this is the
strength of the policy, legislative and statutory frameworks that govern
the space.
IMHO the country is a the mercy of Safaricom's goodwill. All the company
needs is a Trump who will strong-arm all of the actors/players into dancing
to his/her tune...
My two sumuni,
Mblayo
On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 12:20 AM, Beryl Aidi via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello everyone,
Interesting debate. And after all the vibrant debate, explanations and
the
likely perception of Safaricom as the bad guys or reaping from policies
skewed to their advantage, for me the Big Q is why is Airtel exiting
other
countries as well? Can it be facing the same issues across the board, or
could it be simply not understanding the African market altogether?
Way back when in the early days, I think they were first to introduce the
concept of sharing airtime called Me2U. I might have seen a TV ad or two
on
NTV and KTN and that was it. Safaricom took the idea, called it Sambaza,
advertized where wananchi were and the rest is history. And the same
pattern repeated itself in many ways, just knowing how to get people's
hearts. Remember the Masai ad?
Sometimes the answers are in the simple things.
Best
Beryl
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:44 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
My very last take on this....
What you refer to, that the market always corrects itself assumes a
pretty fair playing field, in which case, yes!
However, closely associated with market dominance is monopoly tendencies
(stolen from Julius Malema), illegal & underhand business practices and
*ultimately* anti-competitive behaviours!
Lets look back at Microsoft versus everyone else. While Microsoft wasn't
broken up as was initially suggested, they were forced to open up their
API
for the operating system to ensure that every developer using the
Microsoft
Windows API got the exact same API.
They were also forced to unbundle IE from the OS. If you remember
Windows
'98, IE was equivalent to the Windows Shell. You used it upende
usipende!
What did that do to other browsers, it killed them off one by one!
When they unbundled the browser and gave users a choice on the Windows
Platform we got Firefox, Google Chrome et.al.... Innovation
Look to the other side of Microsoft incenstious relationship with Intel
forming the formidable WinTel!
Intel at the height of its anti-competitive behaviour paid Dell more
than
USD 1B *NOT* to use AMD chips which were by then leading in the
processors
war. Remember AMD gave us 64bit computing way ahead of Intel.
It is not hard to imagine what 'illegal' things one would do if you had
a
few Billion shillings to spend against your competitors with no
anti-competition laws. You could:
1. Pay every mobile agent to make sure they never offer services for
other providers apart from yours
2. With you advertising budget running into Bs ensure that your
competition never airs any Ads from your competitors, until you
'approve'
it.
3, with your deep pockets ensure no 'bad' or illegal practices that you
are heavily involved in are mentioned anywhere in the media. If any
media
house airs any, you pull-off your entire media bookings from them until
they 'shika adabu'!
4. Buy the entire usable bandwidth from TEAMS without using it, simply
to
starve your competition until they surrender.
4. Buy the entire stock of your competitions 'bottles' to make sure they
keep on manufacturing news ones every time as opposed to simply
recycling
them.
5. Ensure that no mobile phone provider pre-loads any competing app to
your core apps, whether they are sold on your network on not! If they
do,
you simply cancel all their orders and voila, watu wanashika adabu!
6. Ensure no one even dreams of selling dual-sim phones through your
network... yeah, this one was hilarious & true!
Point is, Market dominance that ultimately leads to anti-competitive
behaviour, which ultimately stifles competition.
Think about it, what-if, just before M-Pesa launched, Airtel Kenya which
I think was at par with Safaricom then, called their lobbyist and handed
them some seriously loaded brown envelopes to kill of the then nascent
mobile money transfer technology, where would we be today?
And that's why I shuddered when Equity came up with the novel idea of
using SIM Card overlays, which Safaricom fought tooth and nail to stop,
including using serious FUD, the Courts, Government bureaucracy et.al
to stop an idea whose time had come!
Equitel was *lucky* to see the next day. You could argue they had deep
pockets!
But, what of that kid in campus who comes up with MPesa reloaded, will
he
survive the onslaught? What if WhatsApp was a Kenyan firm, threatening
to
take away crucial revenue from SMS from Safaricom as an example?
Would they have been allowed to thrive?
How many 'ICT practitioners' would have come out of the woodwork to
claim
that this technology was 'unsafe', 'untested', 'unregulated'?
How many media outlets would have covered their success stories without
fear of antagonizing their loaded telco customers?
How many phone providers would have dared to be been 'seen' to
advertising Whatsapp on their phones?
List goes on & on.
My point is, market dominance without very solid & well implemented
anti-competition laws stifles innovation big time.
P.S
Every scenario I have picked on, on what I would do if I had a few Bs to
smoother my competition is hypothetical and likeness to any real
scenario
is by mere inter-galactic coincidence :-)
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Job
I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common
place today:-
1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems
to
talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that
doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The
new
Mantra in Business is *Platform Thinking*. I advise you read this
article in HBR:-
https://hbr.org/2016/04/ pipelines-platforms-and-the- new-rule <https://hbr.org/2016/04/pipelines-platforms-and-the-new-rule>
s-of-strategy
2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the *network effect*
(also
called *network externality* or *demand-side economies of scale*) is
the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that
product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of
a
product or service is dependent on the number of others using it.
(Wikipedia)
This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the
competition.
Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom
initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply
didn't
go well.
So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or
unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today
Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in
Equity.
That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to
align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we
all
know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the
Galaxies align for you.
As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the
Game..and change it!! :-)
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
+254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but
a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,
I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties.
Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank
with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to
open
a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with
CBA
altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have
been
arm twisted to using them.
Regards,
Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>
wrote:
Job
Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to
their platform without them paying for it? Surely not...
This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in
Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those
Neanderthals in
Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the
revolution.
Literally.
I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very
good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is
something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then
it's
their prerogative.
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
+254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/ alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act
but
a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ngigi,
It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never
understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a
Safaricom one.
If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would
be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to
M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the
telecom market in Kenya.
Regards,
Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to
do
a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas
as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that
would
qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though:
1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a
choice?
Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with
Windows
'98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom,
although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over
15yrs.
Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4
times
the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say
Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great
injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its
associated
services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third
choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if
one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>
wrote:
Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how
that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to
watch.
Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't
complain
when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k
subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic
relationship
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/chemukoechk%40gmail.com
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. ...
No need to say more, the facts speak for themselves ;) Best regards, Brian On Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 12:06 PM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Brian
Let me latch on to that word Hypothetical. :-)
According to the English Dictionary this means:-
*'Supposed but not necessarily real or true'*
Need I say more? :-)
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 10:42 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Ali,
Solid points. My premise is that Safaricom has a "hypothetical monopoly" in a number of their product lines. In essence, they can increase their prices on these products by 5-10% and customers wouldn't have an alternative supply/supplier. This is the most basic litmus test for market dominance. (My friends from the legal, regulatory and competition vectors can correct me if I err.) It is a sensitive subject and please accept my apology for diverting from the genesis of this thread (Airtel exit) and belaboring the point regarding Safaricom's (alleged) significant market power. I'll rest my case and leave it to the powers that be to determine the best way forward.
Yours always,
Mblayo
On Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 4:02 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Brian/Barrack
Very true. There could be instances of abuse of Market Power. This doesn't stop us as customers and competitors to point these out. And seeking remedies. There must however be evidence of this and a formal complaint lodged with the Regulator and/or courts.
The Chairman of Airtel is the one who started this particular firestorm of Africa Exit at Davos.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-20/airtel- considering-exits-stake-sales-at-some-africa-operations
So no fake news here.
Brian, my major concern about Market Dominance is how we define it and execute remedies against its abuse. The assumption that I simply cannot agree with is that Customers are so dumb that they will continue giving Safaricom a bigger and bigger chunk of their share of the wallet because of coercion and lack of choice. We have choices guys. There are a number of player now that are not even telcos that are starting to chip at Safaricom's Dominance when it comes to mobile money..Not to mention the fact that cash is still king?
I won't even dwell on the other aspects - voice, data etc. the competition is vibrant and competitors coming out of the woodwork. From places we haven't even fathomed yet.
While the other telco competitors are mulling exits and crying foul of skewed playing fields Safaricom is busy sassing out who their next competitors are..
Tafakari hayo (think about that).
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 1 Feb 2017, at 12:10 AM, Barrack Otieno via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Many thanks Mblayo for your insightfull comments.
By the Ali and listers, i heard on Radio Airtel disputing claims that they are planning to exit the African Market. Seems like we are dealing with Fake news or what?
Regards
On 1/31/17, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hussein,
I agree with you that in a competitive market the stronger will have a
certain level of dominance. However in the telecoms industry, and more
specifically when we talk about a space with a limited number of issued
licenses (call them competitors), things can go very wrong very quickly if
an eye isn't kept on a dominant player with significant market power (SMP)
which can be abused to produce anti-competitive effects. It is also very
necessary to reduce the granularity of analysis almost to the product level
as a company can have varying levels of market dominance across different
ranges of product offerings, a good example is m-pesa which has already
been cited (my guesstimate is that Safaricom has about 98-99% market share
in mobile money). Thereafter a composite of the various dominances(sic)
across various products lines would probably give a fair idea of the extent
to which the company dmoinates overall.
At this point it would be possible to determine whether anti-trust
methodologies, regulatory interventions, policy interventions are
necessary. At the crux of all of this is the strength (and independence) of
the various regulatory authorities (comms regulator, competition authority,
revenue authority et al). And of course underpinning all of this is the
strength of the policy, legislative and statutory frameworks that govern
the space.
IMHO the country is a the mercy of Safaricom's goodwill. All the company
needs is a Trump who will strong-arm all of the actors/players into dancing
to his/her tune...
My two sumuni,
Mblayo
On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 12:20 AM, Beryl Aidi via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Hello everyone,
Interesting debate. And after all the vibrant debate, explanations and
the
likely perception of Safaricom as the bad guys or reaping from policies
skewed to their advantage, for me the Big Q is why is Airtel exiting
other
countries as well? Can it be facing the same issues across the board, or
could it be simply not understanding the African market altogether?
Way back when in the early days, I think they were first to introduce the
concept of sharing airtime called Me2U. I might have seen a TV ad or two
on
NTV and KTN and that was it. Safaricom took the idea, called it Sambaza,
advertized where wananchi were and the rest is history. And the same
pattern repeated itself in many ways, just knowing how to get people's
hearts. Remember the Masai ad?
Sometimes the answers are in the simple things.
Best
Beryl
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:44 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
My very last take on this....
What you refer to, that the market always corrects itself assumes a
pretty fair playing field, in which case, yes!
However, closely associated with market dominance is monopoly tendencies
(stolen from Julius Malema), illegal & underhand business practices and
*ultimately* anti-competitive behaviours!
Lets look back at Microsoft versus everyone else. While Microsoft wasn't
broken up as was initially suggested, they were forced to open up their
API
for the operating system to ensure that every developer using the
Microsoft
Windows API got the exact same API.
They were also forced to unbundle IE from the OS. If you remember
Windows
'98, IE was equivalent to the Windows Shell. You used it upende
usipende!
What did that do to other browsers, it killed them off one by one!
When they unbundled the browser and gave users a choice on the Windows
Platform we got Firefox, Google Chrome et.al.... Innovation
Look to the other side of Microsoft incenstious relationship with Intel
forming the formidable WinTel!
Intel at the height of its anti-competitive behaviour paid Dell more
than
USD 1B *NOT* to use AMD chips which were by then leading in the
processors
war. Remember AMD gave us 64bit computing way ahead of Intel.
It is not hard to imagine what 'illegal' things one would do if you had
a
few Billion shillings to spend against your competitors with no
anti-competition laws. You could:
1. Pay every mobile agent to make sure they never offer services for
other providers apart from yours
2. With you advertising budget running into Bs ensure that your
competition never airs any Ads from your competitors, until you
'approve'
it.
3, with your deep pockets ensure no 'bad' or illegal practices that you
are heavily involved in are mentioned anywhere in the media. If any
media
house airs any, you pull-off your entire media bookings from them until
they 'shika adabu'!
4. Buy the entire usable bandwidth from TEAMS without using it, simply
to
starve your competition until they surrender.
4. Buy the entire stock of your competitions 'bottles' to make sure they
keep on manufacturing news ones every time as opposed to simply
recycling
them.
5. Ensure that no mobile phone provider pre-loads any competing app to
your core apps, whether they are sold on your network on not! If they
do,
you simply cancel all their orders and voila, watu wanashika adabu!
6. Ensure no one even dreams of selling dual-sim phones through your
network... yeah, this one was hilarious & true!
Point is, Market dominance that ultimately leads to anti-competitive
behaviour, which ultimately stifles competition.
Think about it, what-if, just before M-Pesa launched, Airtel Kenya which
I think was at par with Safaricom then, called their lobbyist and handed
them some seriously loaded brown envelopes to kill of the then nascent
mobile money transfer technology, where would we be today?
And that's why I shuddered when Equity came up with the novel idea of
using SIM Card overlays, which Safaricom fought tooth and nail to stop,
including using serious FUD, the Courts, Government bureaucracy et.al
to stop an idea whose time had come!
Equitel was *lucky* to see the next day. You could argue they had deep
pockets!
But, what of that kid in campus who comes up with MPesa reloaded, will
he
survive the onslaught? What if WhatsApp was a Kenyan firm, threatening
to
take away crucial revenue from SMS from Safaricom as an example?
Would they have been allowed to thrive?
How many 'ICT practitioners' would have come out of the woodwork to
claim
that this technology was 'unsafe', 'untested', 'unregulated'?
How many media outlets would have covered their success stories without
fear of antagonizing their loaded telco customers?
How many phone providers would have dared to be been 'seen' to
advertising Whatsapp on their phones?
List goes on & on.
My point is, market dominance without very solid & well implemented
anti-competition laws stifles innovation big time.
P.S
Every scenario I have picked on, on what I would do if I had a few Bs to
smoother my competition is hypothetical and likeness to any real
scenario
is by mere inter-galactic coincidence :-)
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Job
I believe you are referring to two phenomena that are becoming common
place today:-
1. Interoperability - This implies open standards, ability of systems
to
talk to each other seamlessly. My prediction is this:- any company that
doesn't adhere to this thinking will be dead in less than 3 years. The
new
Mantra in Business is *Platform Thinking*. I advise you read this
article in HBR:-
https://hbr.org/2016/04/pipelines-platforms-and-the-new-rule
s-of-strategy
2. The Network Effect. In economics and business the *network effect*
(also
called *network externality* or *demand-side economies of scale*) is
the effect that one user of a good or service has on the value of that
product to other people. When a network effect is present, the value of
a
product or service is dependent on the number of others using it.
(Wikipedia)
This simply means that Safaricom has been better at executing than the
competition.
Let's look at Equity Bank for a moment. They partnered with Safaricom
initially with their Mkesho Product. We know that story. It simply
didn't
go well.
So what did Equity do? Moan? Complain about Safaricom's Dominance or
unfairness? Or cry foul on legislation? We know that story too. Today
Safaricom understands one thing. They have a serious competitor in
Equity.
That's how the game is played people. If you wait for the galaxies to
align for you then you better roll over and play for dead. Because we
all
know that if you want to be the Big Cajuna in the room - You make the
Galaxies align for you.
As my son keeps on remind me - Don't hate the Player...Hate the
Game..and change it!! :-)
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
+254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but
a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki <muriukin@gmail.com> wrote:
Ali,
I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties.
Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank
with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to
open
a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with
CBA
altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have
been
arm twisted to using them.
Regards,
Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>
wrote:
Job
Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to
their platform without them paying for it? Surely not...
This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in
Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those
Neanderthals in
Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the
revolution.
Literally.
I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very
good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is
something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then
it's
their prerogative.
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
+254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act
but
a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ngigi,
It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never
understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a
Safaricom one.
If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would
be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to
M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the
telecom market in Kenya.
Regards,
Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to
do
a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas
as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that
would
qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though:
1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a
choice?
Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with
Windows
'98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom,
although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over
15yrs.
Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4
times
the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say
Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great
injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its
associated
services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third
choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if
one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke>
wrote:
Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how
that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to
watch.
Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't
complain
when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k
subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic
relationship
they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per
agreement);
Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is
giving
Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel
real
competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to
expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has
Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way
we
have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And
this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to
break up
Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free
Markets are
the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is
generally happy we have nothing to fear.
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
+254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113> <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act
but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya,
combines
it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable
market
share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along
big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as
Safaricom
was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different
story right
now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember
is.......
THIS IS AFRICA!
On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" <
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African
countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad,
Congo,
Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda,
Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those
markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its
operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra
Leone to
Orange
<http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite- talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>,
the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa.
Airtel plans Africa exit
<http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory
environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are
purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions
of the
organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%
40at.co.ke
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.
--
*Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi*
Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod
Building
T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061>
<+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000
www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m
ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m
ailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m
ailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m
ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
--
*Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi*
Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod
Building
T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> <+254%20716%20201061>
| M +254 737 811 000
www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m
ailman/options/kictanet/bee.aidi%40gmail.com
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.
--
Beryl
***********************************************
Darkness cannot put out the Light. It can only make God brighter.
—Author
Unknown.
_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/
mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
-- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 <+254%20721%20325277> +254733206359 <+254%20733%20206359> Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
@Job On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties.
Why? In whose interests is this?
Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to open a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with CBA altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have been arm twisted to using them.
I would beg to differ, at the moment, you can bank that check, so they have ceded this bit. (You can receive payments from safaricom on any number), I think what you are asking is in addition to honouring the check, that Barclays cedes more of their operating infrastructure. Their ATMs, their branches for you to conduct your own business.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Job
Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to their platform without them paying for it? Surely not...
This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those Neanderthals in Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the revolution. Literally.
I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then it's their prerogative.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ngigi,
It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a Safaricom one. If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the telecom market in Kenya.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/arebacollins%40gmail.com
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.
-- Regards, Collins Areba, Kilifi, Kenya. Tel: +*254 707 750 788 */ *0731534124* Twitter: @arebacollins. Skype: arebacollins
Thank you listers for such an elaborate drill down, though most are enlightening, not all responses are viable responses, and the days of spending years and millions evaluating alternatives are gone. The common denominator across every disruptive scenario is the growing urgency for scenario analysis and response generation. The historical challenges that traditional companies have with rapid experimentation and prototyping are a growing concern. I think a perfect word to capture the amplification of both innovation and its disruptive power is combinatorial. I notice that most of the earlier posts describe the digital foundation, innovation accelerators, and disruptive scenarios. What the various messages do not convey without the associative narrative is the power of combinatorial. If we build on top of the various observations, we begin to see a pattern of the complexity at the intersections, the amplification of disruptive power, and the broad implications for the future. The universe is combined….disruptions in one industry ripple through the next. Unfortunately there is more to come. And the regulatory environment can certainly defer through short term intervention but not entirely evade the lurking waves….. I might if time allows me in my next post, look at a process for thinking about this growing need to attack these issues head on. Cheers Tim Coach Timothy Oriedo [image: http://]timothyoriedo.coach <http://timothyoriedo.coach/?promo=email_sig&utm_source=email_sig&utm_medium=email_sig&utm_campaign=external_links> On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 7:52 PM, Collins Areba via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
@Job
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 12:02 PM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
I mean they open up Mpesa and they pay loyalties.
Why? In whose interests is this?
Currently, it's like been paid with Barclays bank cheque while you bank with CBA and the two don't honour foreign cheques so you are forced to open a Barclays account and before you know it you end up not banking with CBA altogether. Not that Barclays has better services but somehow you have been arm twisted to using them.
I would beg to differ, at the moment, you can bank that check, so they have ceded this bit. (You can receive payments from safaricom on any number), I think what you are asking is in addition to honouring the check, that Barclays cedes more of their operating infrastructure. Their ATMs, their branches for you to conduct your own business.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 11:43 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Job
Are you suggesting that Safaricom just 'gives' competitors access to their platform without them paying for it? Surely not...
This is akin to you saying that now that Tesla has become dominant in Electric Cars they should give up their technology to those Neanderthals in Detroit (GM, Ford etc) simply because they slept through the revolution. Literally.
I'd agree with you on this principle if you said that it makes very good strategic sense for them to open up Mpesa as a Platform. That is something I think that Safaricom will regret if they don't. But then it's their prerogative.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:58 AM, Job Muriuki via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ngigi,
It's like you are reading from the same script as I am. I have never understood why we can't use Mpesa on any other number other than a Safaricom one. If Airtel, et al got access to the M-pesa platform then the tale would be very different. As long as Safaricom has exclusivity access to M-pesa the rest will have an uphill task in making any headways in the telecom market in Kenya.
Regards, Job Muriuki,
Skype: heviejob
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> Listers > > Another one bites the dust? > > I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. > > Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African > countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, > Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, > Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. > > The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those > markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its > operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to > Orange > <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, > the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. > Airtel plans Africa exit > <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/> > > Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory > environment skewed towards a few players? > > *Ali Hussein* > > *Principal* > > *Hussein & Associates* > > > > Tel: +254 713 601113 > > Twitter: @AliHKassim > > Skype: abu-jomo > > LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim > <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> > > > 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, > > Chiromo Road, Westlands, > > Nairobi, Kenya. > > Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are > purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the > organizations that I work with. > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ > > Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m > ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke > > 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. >
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/muriukin%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/arebacollins%40gmail.com
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.
-- Regards,
Collins Areba, Kilifi, Kenya. Tel: +*254 707 750 788 */ *0731534124* Twitter: @arebacollins. Skype: arebacollins
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/timoriedo%40gmail.com
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.
Mblayo, I knew they were doomed (CCK) when they were asked to first hire a consultant to review whether there is such a thing as market dominance, then another consultant to define market dominance, then another consultant to review whether Safaricom is market dominant, and then another consultant to review whether should Safaricom be market dominant ,whether any penalties should accrue :-) :-) :-) That's what you hire Lobbyists for! Get you 10 years, by which time all your competition will be dead! Rgds On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
.....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113 <+254%20713%20601113>
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA! On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-not-exiting-africa-despite-talks-to-sell-4-networks-to-orange/>, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa. Airtel plans Africa exit <http://mobilityarena.com/airtel-exit-nigeria-13-african-countries/>
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
*Ali Hussein*
*Principal*
*Hussein & Associates*
Tel: +254 713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim
Skype: abu-jomo
LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
Chiromo Road, Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,*
*Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 <+254%20716%20201061> | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/ mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- *Regards,* *Wait**haka Ngigi* Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
Ngigi and all :-) There's no doubt that sometimes Safaricom misbehaves. But then that's human nature. No one is perfect and no one said business was for the faint hearted. :-) Lobbying isn't the exclusive preserve of Safaricom. All its competitors had the same deep pockets to do what needed to be done. They were simply out smarted. Check what Wananchi Online did to reinvent themselves. There was once an 800 pound Gorilla called Africa Online. They were a behemoth towering all over us across Africa. Wako wapi sasa? (Where are they now?) Markets are simply ruthless and unforgiving. And I will hazard a guess:- If Safaricom doesn't remain focused and execute better than the competition we will be discussing them in exactly the same way we are now discussing their competitors. Reminds me of the African story about the African Savannah.. 'Every day an antelope wakes up and he knows that he must outrun at least one other antelope to remain alive..' I think we worry too much about this Market Dominance thing. There's no such thing. That term simply means:- 'Market dominance is a measure of the strength of a brand, product, service, or firm, relative to competitive offerings. There is often a geographic element to the competitive landscape...' (Wikipedia) When did that become a crime? Why punish someone/something for working hard? :-) Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 11:13 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
Mblayo,
I knew they were doomed (CCK) when they were asked to first hire a consultant to review whether there is such a thing as market dominance, then another consultant to define market dominance, then another consultant to review whether Safaricom is market dominant, and then another consultant to review whether should Safaricom be market dominant ,whether any penalties should accrue
:-) :-) :-)
That's what you hire Lobbyists for! Get you 10 years, by which time all your competition will be dead!
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 10:38 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: .....and the way CA (formerly CCK) were hammered when they tried to do a market intervention on the basis of Safaricom dominance....SMH....
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA!
On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa.
Airtel plans Africa exit
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates
Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- Regards,
Waithaka Ngigi Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com
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.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- Regards,
Waithaka Ngigi Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com
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.
Ngigi Good observations. I'd repeat what I said a few months ago:- Even though we celebrate Mpesa's Payment 'Dominance' let me make the following observations:- 1. Over 90% of transactions are still in cash. Even in the US and Europe cash still makes a significant part of transactions. So the issue of Mpesa's Dominance doesn't even come into play. We overemphasize this Dominance maybe to make ourselves feel good as Kenyans? :-) #JustSaying 2. There is NO dominant global player in payments. Not Visa, Not Mastercard, Not even PayPal. The space is simply too fragmented. 3. If I were Safaricom/Vodaphone I'd already have spurn off Mpesa as a standalone company and exploited its merits to the full. The first one would be to make it totally Network Agnostic and super UX so that we simply don't think of anything else. The second would be to convince Vodaphone that the home of Mpesa is not London but Nairobi so bring it back to Ground Zero of innovation in Africa and seriously exploit it as a Platform/Bank and invite all and sundry to plug into the platform and listen to the increased sounds of CHING CHING!! :-) 4. On the matter of Microsoft and all other supposed Monopolies I have this to say:- This is 2017. Not even Governments are strong enough to defy markets. Enough said. Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis.
Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*?
2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt.
Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line.
MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard!
But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa!
Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market.
Rgds
On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Ngigi
:-)
The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:-
1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you..
2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on.
3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance.
4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer.
Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear.
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113
Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle
Sent from my iPad
On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Ali,
The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @Telkom
Massive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.
Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!
What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......
THIS IS AFRICA!
On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Listers
Another one bites the dust?
I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector.
Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa.
Airtel plans Africa exit
Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players?
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates
Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya.
Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
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.
-- Regards,
Waithaka Ngigi Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building T +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke
Blessed Monday! Might be worth to turn the discussion into interrogating why Safaricom has not had interest "or actualised any interest" in the spinning off of MPESA if such a move would have value to their business - shareholders. Perhaps this is aligned to their mission or business model or buying time for the market to develop. Blessed day. Regards/Wangari --- Pray God Bless. 2013Wangari circa - "Being of the Light, We are Restored Through Faith in Mind, Body and Spirit; We Manifest The Kingdom of God on Earth". On Monday, 30 January 2017, 11:55, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: Ngigi Good observations. I'd repeat what I said a few months ago:- Even though we celebrate Mpesa's Payment 'Dominance' let me make the following observations:- 1. Over 90% of transactions are still in cash. Even in the US and Europe cash still makes a significant part of transactions. So the issue of Mpesa's Dominance doesn't even come into play. We overemphasize this Dominance maybe to make ourselves feel good as Kenyans? :-) #JustSaying 2. There is NO dominant global player in payments. Not Visa, Not Mastercard, Not even PayPal. The space is simply too fragmented. 3. If I were Safaricom/Vodaphone I'd already have spurn off Mpesa as a standalone company and exploited its merits to the full. The first one would be to make it totally Network Agnostic and super UX so that we simply don't think of anything else. The second would be to convince Vodaphone that the home of Mpesa is not London but Nairobi so bring it back to Ground Zero of innovation in Africa and seriously exploit it as a Platform/Bank and invite all and sundry to plug into the platform and listen to the increased sounds of CHING CHING!! :-) 4. On the matter of Microsoft and all other supposed Monopolies I have this to say:- This is 2017. Not even Governments are strong enough to defy markets. Enough said. Ali HusseinPrincipalHussein & Associates+254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassimSkype: abu-jomoLinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 30 Jan 2017, at 10:20 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote: Ali, Analyzing why Safaricom has dominated this market in such Key areas as Mobile Telephony, Payment Services etc is probably something that would qualify for a PHD thesis. Here's what I know though: 1. Are Safaricom's Customers happy? Answer is, do they have a choice? Go back to Microsoft's heyday, were you actually really happy with Windows '98? Did you have a *choice*? 2. Yes, Safaricom could have better services than Airtel & Telkom, although I doubt, having been a user of both Safaricom & Airtel over 15yrs. Even if they were better, how do you reconcile that they are maybe 4 times the size of the rest of the competition? Are they 4x better than say Airtel? I doubt. Now, onto things MPesa, I think Safaricom does MPesa a great injustice of not spinning it off. I want MPesa (with all its associated services) on my Airtel line. MPesa needs to be listed on NASDAQ! MPesa needs to be the third choice globally after VISA & Mastercard! But there's the not so small matter of who actually owns MPesa! Onto matters regulation, if I was CBK, I would be very concerned if one such firm had that much 'power' over the money transfer market. Rgds On Mon, Jan 30, 2017 at 9:10 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Ngigi :-) The issue of Mobitelea aside (because we will really never know how that went down) Safaricom is simply better at everything:- 1. Their lobbying is simply superior and a thing of beauty to watch. Lobbying is an acceptable practice the world over. Please don't complain when your competitor is doing a better job at it than you.. 2. Which industry is Safaricom in? Energy? (Mkopa Solar with 500k subscribers simply won't have existed without the symbiotic relationship they have with Mpesa. And Safaricom skims off the top as per agreement); Banking? CBA without Mshwari is a shell; Payments? Lipa na Mpesa is giving Visa and Mastercard a run for their money; TV? Zuku is about to feel real competition. And the list goes on. 3. I'm keen to see the Dominance Report because I think we need to expand our thinking. I don't believe there is anyone today who has Dominance in any particular area at least not in the traditional way we have defined Dominance. 4. The thing of course to watch is abuse of Market Dominance. And this in itself a slippery slop. Once The US Government tried to break up Microsoft. What the Government couldn't do the Market did. Free Markets are the greatest equalizer. Let us be careful what we wish for. In as long as the customer is generally happy we have nothing to fear. Ali HusseinPrincipalHussein & Associates+254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassimSkype: abu-jomoLinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin. com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad On 30 Jan 2017, at 8:29 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote: Ali,The only palatable End Game; Equitel buys off Airtel Kenya, combines it with Helios stake @TelkomMassive innovation thereafter would get back some respectable market share.Truth be told, Safaricom's cozzyiness with GoK has helped it along big time. I dare say if Kencell has ceded 10% to Mobitelea, as Safaricom was more than glad to do, we'd probably be speaking a different story right now!What these foreign firms investing in Africa need to remember is.......THIS IS AFRICA!On 28 Jan 2017 8:40 a.m., "Ali Hussein via kictanet" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > wrote: Listers Another one bites the dust? I'm really curious as to whats going on in the Telco sector. Bharti Airtel has announced that it will be exiting 14 African countries within a year. The affected countries include: Chad, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.The telecom operator is faced with poor performance across those markets. Two years ago, when Airtel began talks to sell off its operations in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville and Sierra Leone to Orange, the company had stated that it wouldn’t be exiting Africa.Airtel plans Africa exit Is the African market too competitive or is the regulatory environment skewed towards a few players? AliHusseinPrincipalHussein & Associates Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassimSkype: abu-jomoLinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alih kassim 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,Chiromo Road, Westlands,Nairobi, Kenya. Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with. ______________________________ _________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTA Net/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/m ailman/options/kictanet/ngigi% 40at.co.ke 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. -- Regards, Waithaka NgigiChief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod BuildingT +254 20 525 0750 |Office Mobile: +254 716 201061 | M +254 737 811 000 www.at.co.ke _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/wangarikabiru%40yahoo.... 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.
participants (15)
-
Ahmed Mohamed Maawy -
Ali Hussein -
Alwala, Rachel -
Barrack Otieno -
Beryl Aidi -
Brian Munyao Longwe -
Collins Areba -
James Muendo -
Job Muriuki -
Ngigi Waithaka -
Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu -
simon njoroge -
Timothy- Coach- Oriedo -
Walubengo J -
WANGARI KABIRU