Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar’s Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu’s infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu’s subscriber base<http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-seek-to-buy-Kenyan-rival-Essars-Yu.html> Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation. Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar’s Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu’s infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu’s subscriber base <http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-seek-to-buy-Kenyan-rival-Essars-Yu.html> Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
I prophesy: After this purchase of *Yu*, we're gonna have Safaricom buying Airtel, while Orange will naturally collapse somehow, unless it's sold to another entity, and it does proper stuff restructuring. Then? No Triopoly. Just a monopoly. This prediction is not too far into the future, not even vision 2030. On 3 March 2014 21:44, Wambua, Christopher <Wambua@cck.go.ke> wrote:
The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation.
Wambua
Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. *From: *ICT Researcher *Sent: *Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM *To: *Wambua, Christopher *Reply To: *ICT Researcher *Cc: *KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions *Subject: *[kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar's Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu's infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu's subscriber base < http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-see...
Considering the profoundly adverse *Triopoly *consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
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For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-) On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation. Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar’s Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu’s infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu’s subscriber base<http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-seek-to-buy-Kenyan-rival-Essars-Yu.html> Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
Listers Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue. The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk.. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad
On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com> wrote:
For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-)
On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation.
Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar’s Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu’s infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu’s subscriber base <http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-seek-to-buy-Kenyan-rival-Essars-Yu.html>
Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
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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.
I thought Kenya was a liberal country, what's with everyone wanting to place regulatory hurdles on Yu's exit. Biggest issue is Safaricom's acquisition of spectrum belonging to YU and thus putting more spectrum under them - which they badly need to improve network quality in urban areas which suffer from congestion. Industry analysts have long predicted consolidation of MNOs in African countries to 3 or 4 per country (see an interview I did with Coleago in December http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/coleago's-chris-gives-insights-on-lte-network-sharing,-spectrum,-future-and-regulation-of-africa-telecoms#) The buy out paves the way for licensing of MVNOs, which have an advantage of sharing existing capacity and unutilised resources rather than building out whole networks again. On 4 Mar 2014 05:32, "Ali Hussein" <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Listers
Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue.
The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk..
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com> wrote:
For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-)
On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" < Wambua@cck.go.ke> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation.
Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. *From: *ICT Researcher *Sent: *Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM *To: *Wambua, Christopher *Reply To: *ICT Researcher *Cc: *KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions *Subject: *[kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar's Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu's infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu's subscriber base < http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-see...
Considering the profoundly adverse *Triopoly *consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
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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.
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
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Dennis Couldn't agree with you more. In this particular case the regulator will do best to stand down and let market forces play out. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad
On Mar 4, 2014, at 7:18 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com> wrote:
I thought Kenya was a liberal country, what's with everyone wanting to place regulatory hurdles on Yu's exit.
Biggest issue is Safaricom's acquisition of spectrum belonging to YU and thus putting more spectrum under them - which they badly need to improve network quality in urban areas which suffer from congestion.
Industry analysts have long predicted consolidation of MNOs in African countries to 3 or 4 per country (see an interview I did with Coleago in December http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/coleago's-chris-gives-insights-on-lte-network-sharing,-spectrum,-future-and-regulation-of-africa-telecoms# )
The buy out paves the way for licensing of MVNOs, which have an advantage of sharing existing capacity and unutilised resources rather than building out whole networks again.
On 4 Mar 2014 05:32, "Ali Hussein" <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Listers
Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue.
The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk..
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com> wrote:
For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-)
On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation.
Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar’s Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu’s infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu’s subscriber base <http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-seek-to-buy-Kenyan-rival-Essars-Yu.html>
Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
BIG QUESTION Why can't Kenya sustain a "multi player" environment? Ive argued for years that it has to do with peculiar "consumer behaviour" of Kenyans. Open competition has not worked, number portability has not worked.....what will sustain a vibrant multi player environment? I've just returned from Ghana where the 4+ players have all sorts of offerings whooing consumers left, right and centre...you have all sorts of incentives that seems to keep all players afloat....number portability works etc etc. Why not Kenya? What's your take? Edith ________________________________________ From: kictanet [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke] on behalf of Ali Hussein [ali@hussein.me.ke] Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 11:47 PM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator Dennis Couldn't agree with you more. In this particular case the regulator will do best to stand down and let market forces play out. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 4, 2014, at 7:18 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com>> wrote: I thought Kenya was a liberal country, what's with everyone wanting to place regulatory hurdles on Yu's exit. Biggest issue is Safaricom's acquisition of spectrum belonging to YU and thus putting more spectrum under them - which they badly need to improve network quality in urban areas which suffer from congestion. Industry analysts have long predicted consolidation of MNOs in African countries to 3 or 4 per country (see an interview I did with Coleago in December http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/coleago's-chris-gives-insights-on-lte-network-sharing,-spectrum,-future-and-regulation-of-africa-telecoms# ) The buy out paves the way for licensing of MVNOs, which have an advantage of sharing existing capacity and unutilised resources rather than building out whole networks again. On 4 Mar 2014 05:32, "Ali Hussein" <ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>> wrote: Listers Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue. The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk.. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113<tel:0713%20601113> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com<mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com>> wrote: For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-) On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke>> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation. Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar’s Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu’s infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu’s subscriber base <http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-seek-to-buy-Kenyan-rival-Essars-Yu.html> Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making? _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ali%40hussein.me.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<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/dmbuvi%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.
@Edith the reason it doesn't work here is because of arrogance or incompetence by the competition. There is no reason as to why the small players have not ganged up and built joint infrastructure like 3G networks to rival Safaricom. I have always said hey should push for twin sim phones to make space on peoples phones but the tend to think selling galaxy phones will translate to profits. Look at Orange. They should have a monopoly on the iPhone game but now Safaricom sell iPhone too. Airtel treat clients like they are doing hem a favour right from the Kencell days. I don't know what Yu's strategy was. @Dennis and @Ali I think this is a bad deal and the regulator shouldn't allow it. It will further constrict choice and thus make a mockery of the license grant in the first place. On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:08 AM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca> wrote:
BIG QUESTION Why can't Kenya sustain a "multi player" environment? Ive argued for years that it has to do with peculiar "consumer behaviour" of Kenyans. Open competition has not worked, number portability has not worked.....what will sustain a vibrant multi player environment?
I've just returned from Ghana where the 4+ players have all sorts of offerings whooing consumers left, right and centre...you have all sorts of incentives that seems to keep all players afloat....number portability works etc etc.
Why not Kenya?
What's your take?
Edith ________________________________________ From: kictanet [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke] on behalf of Ali Hussein [ali@hussein.me.ke] Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 11:47 PM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Dennis
Couldn't agree with you more.
In this particular case the regulator will do best to stand down and let market forces play out.
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 4, 2014, at 7:18 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto: dmbuvi@gmail.com>> wrote:
I thought Kenya was a liberal country, what's with everyone wanting to place regulatory hurdles on Yu's exit.
Biggest issue is Safaricom's acquisition of spectrum belonging to YU and thus putting more spectrum under them - which they badly need to improve network quality in urban areas which suffer from congestion.
Industry analysts have long predicted consolidation of MNOs in African countries to 3 or 4 per country (see an interview I did with Coleago in December http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/coleago's-chris-gives-insights-on-lte-network-sharing,-spectrum,-future-and-regulation-of-africa-telecoms#)
The buy out paves the way for licensing of MVNOs, which have an advantage of sharing existing capacity and unutilised resources rather than building out whole networks again.
On 4 Mar 2014 05:32, "Ali Hussein" <ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto: ali@hussein.me.ke>> wrote: Listers
Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue.
The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk..
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113 <tel:0713%20601113>
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com <mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com>> wrote:
For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-)
On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke <mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke>> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation.
Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar's Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu's infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu's subscriber base < http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-see...
Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
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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.
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Regards, Mark Mwangi markmwangi.me.ke
The regulator has the option to create choice by either licensing a 4th operator or licensing a mobile virtual network operator. For most of the part, YU wasn't really creating much of a choice. The market is plagued by poor product differentiation coupled with poor marketing to some extent. Perhaps, what we need is new blood. Also, MVNO applicants are mostly local players who may have a better understanding of our market. The only argument here is that the buying up of Yu's infrastructure may pose a challenge to anyone looking to start an MVNO. On 4 Mar 2014 09:34, "Mark Mwangi" <mwangy@gmail.com> wrote:
@Edith the reason it doesn't work here is because of arrogance or incompetence by the competition. There is no reason as to why the small players have not ganged up and built joint infrastructure like 3G networks to rival Safaricom. I have always said hey should push for twin sim phones to make space on peoples phones but the tend to think selling galaxy phones will translate to profits.
Look at Orange. They should have a monopoly on the iPhone game but now Safaricom sell iPhone too.
Airtel treat clients like they are doing hem a favour right from the Kencell days. I don't know what Yu's strategy was.
@Dennis and @Ali I think this is a bad deal and the regulator shouldn't allow it. It will further constrict choice and thus make a mockery of the license grant in the first place.
On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:08 AM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca> wrote:
BIG QUESTION Why can't Kenya sustain a "multi player" environment? Ive argued for years that it has to do with peculiar "consumer behaviour" of Kenyans. Open competition has not worked, number portability has not worked.....what will sustain a vibrant multi player environment?
I've just returned from Ghana where the 4+ players have all sorts of offerings whooing consumers left, right and centre...you have all sorts of incentives that seems to keep all players afloat....number portability works etc etc.
Why not Kenya?
What's your take?
Edith ________________________________________ From: kictanet [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke] on behalf of Ali Hussein [ali@hussein.me.ke] Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 11:47 PM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Dennis
Couldn't agree with you more.
In this particular case the regulator will do best to stand down and let market forces play out.
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 4, 2014, at 7:18 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto: dmbuvi@gmail.com>> wrote:
I thought Kenya was a liberal country, what's with everyone wanting to place regulatory hurdles on Yu's exit.
Biggest issue is Safaricom's acquisition of spectrum belonging to YU and thus putting more spectrum under them - which they badly need to improve network quality in urban areas which suffer from congestion.
Industry analysts have long predicted consolidation of MNOs in African countries to 3 or 4 per country (see an interview I did with Coleago in December http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/coleago's-chris-gives-insights-on-lte-network-sharing,-spectrum,-future-and-regulation-of-africa-telecoms#)
The buy out paves the way for licensing of MVNOs, which have an advantage of sharing existing capacity and unutilised resources rather than building out whole networks again.
On 4 Mar 2014 05:32, "Ali Hussein" <ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto: ali@hussein.me.ke>> wrote: Listers
Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue.
The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk..
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113 <tel:0713%20601113>
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com <mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com>> wrote:
For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-)
On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke <mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke>> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation.
Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar's Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu's infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu's subscriber base < http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-see...
Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwangy%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,
Mark Mwangi
markmwangi.me.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/dmbuvi%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.
Coincidence that Equity bank was planning to 'take over' Yu in order to compete with M-pesa? Pre-emptive action to kill potential competition? On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 3:02 PM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com> wrote:
The regulator has the option to create choice by either licensing a 4th operator or licensing a mobile virtual network operator.
For most of the part, YU wasn't really creating much of a choice.
The market is plagued by poor product differentiation coupled with poor marketing to some extent.
Perhaps, what we need is new blood.
Also, MVNO applicants are mostly local players who may have a better understanding of our market.
The only argument here is that the buying up of Yu's infrastructure may pose a challenge to anyone looking to start an MVNO. On 4 Mar 2014 09:34, "Mark Mwangi" <mwangy@gmail.com> wrote:
@Edith the reason it doesn't work here is because of arrogance or incompetence by the competition. There is no reason as to why the small players have not ganged up and built joint infrastructure like 3G networks to rival Safaricom. I have always said hey should push for twin sim phones to make space on peoples phones but the tend to think selling galaxy phones will translate to profits.
Look at Orange. They should have a monopoly on the iPhone game but now Safaricom sell iPhone too.
Airtel treat clients like they are doing hem a favour right from the Kencell days. I don't know what Yu's strategy was.
@Dennis and @Ali I think this is a bad deal and the regulator shouldn't allow it. It will further constrict choice and thus make a mockery of the license grant in the first place.
On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:08 AM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca> wrote:
BIG QUESTION Why can't Kenya sustain a "multi player" environment? Ive argued for years that it has to do with peculiar "consumer behaviour" of Kenyans. Open competition has not worked, number portability has not worked.....what will sustain a vibrant multi player environment?
I've just returned from Ghana where the 4+ players have all sorts of offerings whooing consumers left, right and centre...you have all sorts of incentives that seems to keep all players afloat....number portability works etc etc.
Why not Kenya?
What's your take?
Edith ________________________________________ From: kictanet [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke] on behalf of Ali Hussein [ali@hussein.me.ke] Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 11:47 PM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Dennis
Couldn't agree with you more.
In this particular case the regulator will do best to stand down and let market forces play out.
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 4, 2014, at 7:18 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto: dmbuvi@gmail.com>> wrote:
I thought Kenya was a liberal country, what's with everyone wanting to place regulatory hurdles on Yu's exit.
Biggest issue is Safaricom's acquisition of spectrum belonging to YU and thus putting more spectrum under them - which they badly need to improve network quality in urban areas which suffer from congestion.
Industry analysts have long predicted consolidation of MNOs in African countries to 3 or 4 per country (see an interview I did with Coleago in December http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/coleago's-chris-gives-insights-on-lte-network-sharing,-spectrum,-future-and-regulation-of-africa-telecoms#)
The buy out paves the way for licensing of MVNOs, which have an advantage of sharing existing capacity and unutilised resources rather than building out whole networks again.
On 4 Mar 2014 05:32, "Ali Hussein" <ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto: ali@hussein.me.ke>> wrote: Listers
Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue.
The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk..
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113 <tel:0713%20601113>
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com <mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com>> wrote:
For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-)
On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" < Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke>> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation.
Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar's Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu's infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu's subscriber base < http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-see...
Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwangy%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,
Mark Mwangi
markmwangi.me.ke
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/dmbuvi%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
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/peterwakaba%40gmail.co...
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.
-- *Warm Regards, PETER WAKABA AFRICA BUSINESS EDITOR, CCTV AFRICA Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up, it knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a gazelle or a lion. When the sun comes up, you better start running.- In "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman.*
Am wondering why Equity didnt buy Yu outright. They have the money so why not acquire the network themselves if onl to completely control the mobile mone tech bit. On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 11:01 AM, Peter Wakaba <peterwakaba@gmail.com> wrote:
Coincidence that Equity bank was planning to 'take over' Yu in order to compete with M-pesa?
Pre-emptive action to kill potential competition?
On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 3:02 PM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com> wrote:
The regulator has the option to create choice by either licensing a 4th operator or licensing a mobile virtual network operator.
For most of the part, YU wasn't really creating much of a choice.
The market is plagued by poor product differentiation coupled with poor marketing to some extent.
Perhaps, what we need is new blood.
Also, MVNO applicants are mostly local players who may have a better understanding of our market.
The only argument here is that the buying up of Yu's infrastructure may pose a challenge to anyone looking to start an MVNO. On 4 Mar 2014 09:34, "Mark Mwangi" <mwangy@gmail.com> wrote:
@Edith the reason it doesn't work here is because of arrogance or incompetence by the competition. There is no reason as to why the small players have not ganged up and built joint infrastructure like 3G networks to rival Safaricom. I have always said hey should push for twin sim phones to make space on peoples phones but the tend to think selling galaxy phones will translate to profits.
Look at Orange. They should have a monopoly on the iPhone game but now Safaricom sell iPhone too.
Airtel treat clients like they are doing hem a favour right from the Kencell days. I don't know what Yu's strategy was.
@Dennis and @Ali I think this is a bad deal and the regulator shouldn't allow it. It will further constrict choice and thus make a mockery of the license grant in the first place.
On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:08 AM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca> wrote:
BIG QUESTION Why can't Kenya sustain a "multi player" environment? Ive argued for years that it has to do with peculiar "consumer behaviour" of Kenyans. Open competition has not worked, number portability has not worked.....what will sustain a vibrant multi player environment?
I've just returned from Ghana where the 4+ players have all sorts of offerings whooing consumers left, right and centre...you have all sorts of incentives that seems to keep all players afloat....number portability works etc etc.
Why not Kenya?
What's your take?
Edith ________________________________________ From: kictanet [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke] on behalf of Ali Hussein [ali@hussein.me.ke] Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 11:47 PM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Dennis
Couldn't agree with you more.
In this particular case the regulator will do best to stand down and let market forces play out.
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 4, 2014, at 7:18 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto: dmbuvi@gmail.com>> wrote:
I thought Kenya was a liberal country, what's with everyone wanting to place regulatory hurdles on Yu's exit.
Biggest issue is Safaricom's acquisition of spectrum belonging to YU and thus putting more spectrum under them - which they badly need to improve network quality in urban areas which suffer from congestion.
Industry analysts have long predicted consolidation of MNOs in African countries to 3 or 4 per country (see an interview I did with Coleago in December http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/coleago's-chris-gives-insights-on-lte-network-sharing,-spectrum,-future-and-regulation-of-africa-telecoms#)
The buy out paves the way for licensing of MVNOs, which have an advantage of sharing existing capacity and unutilised resources rather than building out whole networks again.
On 4 Mar 2014 05:32, "Ali Hussein" <ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto: ali@hussein.me.ke>> wrote: Listers
Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue.
The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk..
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113 <tel:0713%20601113>
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com <mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com>> wrote:
For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-)
On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" < Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke>> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation.
Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar's Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu's infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu's subscriber base < http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-see...
Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwangy%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,
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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* Warm Regards, PETER WAKABA AFRICA BUSINESS EDITOR, CCTV AFRICA Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up, it knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a gazelle or a lion. When the sun comes up, you better start running. - In "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman.*
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Regards, Mark Mwangi markmwangi.me.ke
Mark and Listers, If I were Safaricom, I would do exactly what they are doing and MORE! That is the nature of competition! But if the consumer behaved differently.....aka "rational consumer behaviour"......would the competition hold? ....I dont think for long! Edith ________________________________________ From: Mark Mwangi [mwangy@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2014 1:33 AM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator @Edith the reason it doesn't work here is because of arrogance or incompetence by the competition. There is no reason as to why the small players have not ganged up and built joint infrastructure like 3G networks to rival Safaricom. I have always said hey should push for twin sim phones to make space on peoples phones but the tend to think selling galaxy phones will translate to profits. Look at Orange. They should have a monopoly on the iPhone game but now Safaricom sell iPhone too. Airtel treat clients like they are doing hem a favour right from the Kencell days. I don't know what Yu's strategy was. @Dennis and @Ali I think this is a bad deal and the regulator shouldn't allow it. It will further constrict choice and thus make a mockery of the license grant in the first place. On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:08 AM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca<mailto:eadera@idrc.ca>> wrote: BIG QUESTION Why can't Kenya sustain a "multi player" environment? Ive argued for years that it has to do with peculiar "consumer behaviour" of Kenyans. Open competition has not worked, number portability has not worked.....what will sustain a vibrant multi player environment? I've just returned from Ghana where the 4+ players have all sorts of offerings whooing consumers left, right and centre...you have all sorts of incentives that seems to keep all players afloat....number portability works etc etc. Why not Kenya? What's your take? Edith ________________________________________ From: kictanet [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke>] on behalf of Ali Hussein [ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>] Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 11:47 PM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator Dennis Couldn't agree with you more. In this particular case the regulator will do best to stand down and let market forces play out. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113<tel:0713%20601113> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 4, 2014, at 7:18 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com><mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com>>> wrote: I thought Kenya was a liberal country, what's with everyone wanting to place regulatory hurdles on Yu's exit. Biggest issue is Safaricom's acquisition of spectrum belonging to YU and thus putting more spectrum under them - which they badly need to improve network quality in urban areas which suffer from congestion. Industry analysts have long predicted consolidation of MNOs in African countries to 3 or 4 per country (see an interview I did with Coleago in December http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/coleago's-chris-gives-insights-on-lte-network-sharing,-spectrum,-future-and-regulation-of-africa-telecoms# ) The buy out paves the way for licensing of MVNOs, which have an advantage of sharing existing capacity and unutilised resources rather than building out whole networks again. On 4 Mar 2014 05:32, "Ali Hussein" <ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke><mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>>> wrote: Listers Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue. The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk.. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375><tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113<tel:0713%20601113><tel:0713%20601113> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com<mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com><mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com<mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com>>> wrote: For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-) On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke><mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke>>> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation. Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar’s Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu’s infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu’s subscriber base <http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-seek-to-buy-Kenyan-rival-Essars-Yu.html> Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making? _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke><mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ali%40hussein.me.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<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke><mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/dmbuvi%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<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwangy%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, Mark Mwangi markmwangi.me.ke<http://markmwangi.me.ke>
Edith +1. Mark, sometimes regulatory action is used as a weapon when one has been unable to compete. My take is that Mpesa isn't yet the bread and butter of Safaricom. The greatest value it has is in its network effect. I suspect that Safaricom is already on the hunt for the next big thing. They are building out WiMAX networks, engaging businesses for computing needs etc. This boring stuff is where the money is. My take? CAK (CCK) needs to stand down on this one and let the market take its course. After all what else does the competition need to be done for them to compete with Safaricom? Share out subscribers through legislation? I think this isn't a perfect market but the regulator here is doing an ok job.. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad
On Mar 4, 2014, at 12:12 PM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca> wrote:
Mark and Listers,
If I were Safaricom, I would do exactly what they are doing and MORE! That is the nature of competition! But if the consumer behaved differently.....aka "rational consumer behaviour"......would the competition hold? ....I dont think for long!
Edith ________________________________________ From: Mark Mwangi [mwangy@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2014 1:33 AM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
@Edith the reason it doesn't work here is because of arrogance or incompetence by the competition. There is no reason as to why the small players have not ganged up and built joint infrastructure like 3G networks to rival Safaricom. I have always said hey should push for twin sim phones to make space on peoples phones but the tend to think selling galaxy phones will translate to profits.
Look at Orange. They should have a monopoly on the iPhone game but now Safaricom sell iPhone too.
Airtel treat clients like they are doing hem a favour right from the Kencell days. I don't know what Yu's strategy was.
@Dennis and @Ali I think this is a bad deal and the regulator shouldn't allow it. It will further constrict choice and thus make a mockery of the license grant in the first place.
On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:08 AM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca<mailto:eadera@idrc.ca>> wrote: BIG QUESTION Why can't Kenya sustain a "multi player" environment? Ive argued for years that it has to do with peculiar "consumer behaviour" of Kenyans. Open competition has not worked, number portability has not worked.....what will sustain a vibrant multi player environment?
I've just returned from Ghana where the 4+ players have all sorts of offerings whooing consumers left, right and centre...you have all sorts of incentives that seems to keep all players afloat....number portability works etc etc.
Why not Kenya?
What's your take?
Edith ________________________________________ From: kictanet [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke>] on behalf of Ali Hussein [ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>] Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 11:47 PM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Dennis
Couldn't agree with you more.
In this particular case the regulator will do best to stand down and let market forces play out.
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113<tel:0713%20601113>
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 4, 2014, at 7:18 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com><mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com>>> wrote:
I thought Kenya was a liberal country, what's with everyone wanting to place regulatory hurdles on Yu's exit.
Biggest issue is Safaricom's acquisition of spectrum belonging to YU and thus putting more spectrum under them - which they badly need to improve network quality in urban areas which suffer from congestion.
Industry analysts have long predicted consolidation of MNOs in African countries to 3 or 4 per country (see an interview I did with Coleago in December http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/coleago's-chris-gives-insights-on-lte-network-sharing,-spectrum,-future-and-regulation-of-africa-telecoms# )
The buy out paves the way for licensing of MVNOs, which have an advantage of sharing existing capacity and unutilised resources rather than building out whole networks again.
On 4 Mar 2014 05:32, "Ali Hussein" <ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke><mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>>> wrote: Listers
Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue.
The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk..
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375><tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113<tel:0713%20601113><tel:0713%20601113>
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com<mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com><mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com<mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com>>> wrote:
For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-)
On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke><mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke>>> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation.
Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar’s Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu’s infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu’s subscriber base <http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-seek-to-buy-Kenyan-rival-Essars-Yu.html>
Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
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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.
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Regards,
Mark Mwangi
markmwangi.me.ke<http://markmwangi.me.ke>
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
@Ali, I think you are refusing to see the efficacy of MPESA in the Safaricom ecosystem. Whereas Voice still contributes their largest profit percentages, this voice market is glued together around the MPESA product. Think Microsoft of the last decade. Why was their applications so successful (MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-Exchange, etc)? Because they were build around their fairly universal and monopolistic Operating System (MS-Windows). In todays world of tablets and Smartphones and CloudComputing, the Operating system of choice has changed (from Microsoft to Android, iOS and CloudServices i.e. TCP/IP). Suddenly Microsoft finds itself exposed on their product lines (Word, Excel, etc) because they have lost the monopoly of the Operating System. Same thing with Safcom. You expose MPESA to real competition, you break their stronghold on the Voice and other data services. That is what I blogged about @http://tiny.cc/3o36bx (thnx GG for sharing :-) Safaricom is clever (that is why they are no. 1) and one can see from their recent industry moves that they are reacting appropriately. What I dont know is if CCK can also their overall game plan and what it means for the industry. Sorry, let me rephrase that - I think CCK can also see the Safaricom game plan, but I am still not sure they have the "oomph" to intervene one way or the other. At this point in time, the game has moved from being "technical", gone through being "economical" and we are now at the stage where the big boys(where are the girls :-() in politics are receiving calls from interested parties on which way the game should end. I dont have moles way up there but ladies and gentlemen this discussion (Yu acquisition) must now at a the Politcal layer. You and I can only wait and see - and run to court if we feel aggrieved by the final decisions taken. walu. -------------------------------------------- On Tue, 3/4/14, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 1:42 PM Edith +1. Mark, sometimes regulatory action is used as a weapon when one has been unable to compete. My take is that Mpesa isn't yet the bread and butter of Safaricom. The greatest value it has is in its network effect. I suspect that Safaricom is already on the hunt for the next big thing. They are building out WiMAX networks, engaging businesses for computing needs etc. This boring stuff is where the money is. My take? CAK (CCK) needs to stand down on this one and let the market take its course. After all what else does the competition need to be done for them to compete with Safaricom? Share out subscribers through legislation? I think this isn't a perfect market but the regulator here is doing an ok job.. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 4, 2014, at 12:12 PM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca> wrote: Mark and Listers, If I were Safaricom, I would do exactly what they are doing and MORE! That is the nature of competition! But if the consumer behaved differently.....aka "rational consumer behaviour"......would the competition hold? ....I dont think for long! Edith ________________________________________ From: Mark Mwangi [mwangy@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2014 1:33 AM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator @Edith the reason it doesn't work here is because of arrogance or incompetence by the competition. There is no reason as to why the small players have not ganged up and built joint infrastructure like 3G networks to rival Safaricom. I have always said hey should push for twin sim phones to make space on peoples phones but the tend to think selling galaxy phones will translate to profits. Look at Orange. They should have a monopoly on the iPhone game but now Safaricom sell iPhone too. Airtel treat clients like they are doing hem a favour right from the Kencell days. I don't know what Yu's strategy was. @Dennis and @Ali I think this is a bad deal and the regulator shouldn't allow it. It will further constrict choice and thus make a mockery of the license grant in the first place. On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:08 AM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca<mailto:eadera@idrc.ca>> wrote: BIG QUESTION Why can't Kenya sustain a "multi player" environment? Ive argued for years that it has to do with peculiar "consumer behaviour" of Kenyans. Open competition has not worked, number portability has not worked.....what will sustain a vibrant multi player environment? I've just returned from Ghana where the 4+ players have all sorts of offerings whooing consumers left, right and centre...you have all sorts of incentives that seems to keep all players afloat....number portability works etc etc. Why not Kenya? What's your take? Edith ________________________________________ From: kictanet [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke>] on behalf of Ali Hussein [ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>] Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 11:47 PM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator Dennis Couldn't agree with you more. In this particular case the regulator will do best to stand down and let market forces play out. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113<tel:0713%20601113> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 4, 2014, at 7:18 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com><mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com>>> wrote: I thought Kenya was a liberal country, what's with everyone wanting to place regulatory hurdles on Yu's exit. Biggest issue is Safaricom's acquisition of spectrum belonging to YU and thus putting more spectrum under them - which they badly need to improve network quality in urban areas which suffer from congestion. Industry analysts have long predicted consolidation of MNOs in African countries to 3 or 4 per country (see an interview I did with Coleago in December http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/coleago's-chris-gives-insights-on-lte-network-sharing,-spectrum,-future-and-regulation-of-africa-telecoms# ) The buy out paves the way for licensing of MVNOs, which have an advantage of sharing existing capacity and unutilised resources rather than building out whole networks again. On 4 Mar 2014 05:32, "Ali Hussein" <ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke><mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>>> wrote: Listers Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue. The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk.. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375><tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113<tel:0713%20601113><tel:0713%20601113> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com<mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com><mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com<mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com>>> wrote: For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-) On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke><mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke>>> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation. Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar’s Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu’s infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu’s subscriber base <http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-seek-to-buy-Kenyan-rival-Essars-Yu.html> Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making? _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke><mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ali%40hussein.me.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<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke><mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/dmbuvi%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<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwangy%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, Mark Mwangi markmwangi.me.ke<http://markmwangi.me.ke> _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/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. -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/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 We are saying the same thing really... My point being that everyone is looking at Safaricom as this omnipresent being yet they are not really.. The time has come for the competition to stop running under the skirts of the Regulator every time Safaricom coughs.. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad
On Mar 4, 2014, at 2:39 PM, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
@Ali,
I think you are refusing to see the efficacy of MPESA in the Safaricom ecosystem. Whereas Voice still contributes their largest profit percentages, this voice market is glued together around the MPESA product.
Think Microsoft of the last decade. Why was their applications so successful (MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-Exchange, etc)? Because they were build around their fairly universal and monopolistic Operating System (MS-Windows). In todays world of tablets and Smartphones and CloudComputing, the Operating system of choice has changed (from Microsoft to Android, iOS and CloudServices i.e. TCP/IP).
Suddenly Microsoft finds itself exposed on their product lines (Word, Excel, etc) because they have lost the monopoly of the Operating System. Same thing with Safcom. You expose MPESA to real competition, you break their stronghold on the Voice and other data services. That is what I blogged about @http://tiny.cc/3o36bx (thnx GG for sharing :-)
Safaricom is clever (that is why they are no. 1) and one can see from their recent industry moves that they are reacting appropriately. What I dont know is if CCK can also their overall game plan and what it means for the industry. Sorry, let me rephrase that - I think CCK can also see the Safaricom game plan, but I am still not sure they have the "oomph" to intervene one way or the other.
At this point in time, the game has moved from being "technical", gone through being "economical" and we are now at the stage where the big boys(where are the girls :-() in politics are receiving calls from interested parties on which way the game should end. I dont have moles way up there but ladies and gentlemen this discussion (Yu acquisition) must now at a the Politcal layer.
You and I can only wait and see - and run to court if we feel aggrieved by the final decisions taken.
walu. -------------------------------------------- On Tue, 3/4/14, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 1:42 PM
Edith +1. Mark, sometimes regulatory action is used as a weapon when one has been unable to compete. My take is that Mpesa isn't yet the bread and butter of Safaricom. The greatest value it has is in its network effect. I suspect that Safaricom is already on the hunt for the next big thing. They are building out WiMAX networks, engaging businesses for computing needs etc. This boring stuff is where the money is. My take? CAK (CCK) needs to stand down on this one and let the market take its course. After all what else does the competition need to be done for them to compete with Safaricom? Share out subscribers through legislation? I think this isn't a perfect market but the regulator here is doing an ok job..
Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 4, 2014, at 12:12 PM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca> wrote:
Mark and Listers,
If I were Safaricom, I would do exactly what they are doing and MORE! That is the nature of competition! But if the consumer behaved differently.....aka "rational consumer behaviour"......would the competition hold? ....I dont think for long!
Edith ________________________________________ From: Mark Mwangi [mwangy@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2014 1:33 AM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
@Edith the reason it doesn't work here is because of arrogance or incompetence by the competition. There is no reason as to why the small players have not ganged up and built joint infrastructure like 3G networks to rival Safaricom. I have always said hey should push for twin sim phones to make space on peoples phones but the tend to think selling galaxy phones will translate to profits.
Look at Orange. They should have a monopoly on the iPhone game but now Safaricom sell iPhone too.
Airtel treat clients like they are doing hem a favour right from the Kencell days. I don't know what Yu's strategy was.
@Dennis and @Ali I think this is a bad deal and the regulator shouldn't allow it. It will further constrict choice and thus make a mockery of the license grant in the first place.
On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:08 AM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca<mailto:eadera@idrc.ca>> wrote: BIG QUESTION Why can't Kenya sustain a "multi player" environment? Ive argued for years that it has to do with peculiar "consumer behaviour" of Kenyans. Open competition has not worked, number portability has not worked.....what will sustain a vibrant multi player environment?
I've just returned from Ghana where the 4+ players have all sorts of offerings whooing consumers left, right and centre...you have all sorts of incentives that seems to keep all players afloat....number portability works etc etc.
Why not Kenya?
What's your take?
Edith ________________________________________ From: kictanet [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke>] on behalf of Ali Hussein [ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>] Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 11:47 PM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Dennis
Couldn't agree with you more.
In this particular case the regulator will do best to stand down and let market forces play out.
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113<tel:0713%20601113>
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 4, 2014, at 7:18 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com><mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com>>> wrote:
I thought Kenya was a liberal country, what's with everyone wanting to place regulatory hurdles on Yu's exit.
Biggest issue is Safaricom's acquisition of spectrum belonging to YU and thus putting more spectrum under them - which they badly need to improve network quality in urban areas which suffer from congestion.
Industry analysts have long predicted consolidation of MNOs in African countries to 3 or 4 per country (see an interview I did with Coleago in December http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/coleago's-chris-gives-insights-on-lte-network-sharing,-spectrum,-future-and-regulation-of-africa-telecoms# )
The buy out paves the way for licensing of MVNOs, which have an advantage of sharing existing capacity and unutilised resources rather than building out whole networks again.
On 4 Mar 2014 05:32, "Ali Hussein" <ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke><mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>>> wrote: Listers
Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue.
The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk..
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375><tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113<tel:0713%20601113><tel:0713%20601113>
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com<mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com><mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com<mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com>>> wrote:
For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-)
On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke><mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke>>> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation.
Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar’s Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu’s infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu’s subscriber base <http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-seek-to-buy-Kenyan-rival-Essars-Yu.html>
Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
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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<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Regards,
Mark Mwangi
markmwangi.me.ke<http://markmwangi.me.ke>
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-----Inline Attachment Follows-----
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
@Walu in my opinion it is not in CCKs interest to work to reduce Safaricom's dominance. They have the same mother so more safaricom profit = more money to treasury = more money to CCK. Airtel or Orange will not translate the same. I like to follow the money since it rarely lies. We would like to talk in rosy terms about affordability and the common mwananchi but civil service salaries will not pay themselves. Also Gichangi must be happy with this arrangement seeing as there is one operator with the most information flowing through their system. Less bureaucracy more productivity. @Ali I tend to imagine Safaricom are Omnipresent less so because of Mpesa and more because there is hardly any other operator other than Orange(Which is trying) that is close to competing with them on the public trust and engagement front. On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 4:36 PM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
@Walu
We are saying the same thing really...
My point being that everyone is looking at Safaricom as this omnipresent being yet they are not really..
The time has come for the competition to stop running under the skirts of the Regulator every time Safaricom coughs..
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 4, 2014, at 2:39 PM, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
@Ali,
I think you are refusing to see the efficacy of MPESA in the Safaricom ecosystem. Whereas Voice still contributes their largest profit percentages, this voice market is glued together around the MPESA product.
Think Microsoft of the last decade. Why was their applications so successful (MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-Exchange, etc)? Because they were build around their fairly universal and monopolistic Operating System (MS-Windows). In todays world of tablets and Smartphones and CloudComputing, the Operating system of choice has changed (from Microsoft to Android, iOS and CloudServices i.e. TCP/IP).
Suddenly Microsoft finds itself exposed on their product lines (Word, Excel, etc) because they have lost the monopoly of the Operating System. Same thing with Safcom. You expose MPESA to real competition, you break their stronghold on the Voice and other data services. That is what I blogged about @http://tiny.cc/3o36bx (thnx GG for sharing :-)
Safaricom is clever (that is why they are no. 1) and one can see from their recent industry moves that they are reacting appropriately. What I dont know is if CCK can also their overall game plan and what it means for the industry. Sorry, let me rephrase that - I think CCK can also see the Safaricom game plan, but I am still not sure they have the "oomph" to intervene one way or the other.
At this point in time, the game has moved from being "technical", gone through being "economical" and we are now at the stage where the big boys(where are the girls :-() in politics are receiving calls from interested parties on which way the game should end. I dont have moles way up there but ladies and gentlemen this discussion (Yu acquisition) must now at a the Politcal layer.
You and I can only wait and see - and run to court if we feel aggrieved by the final decisions taken.
walu. -------------------------------------------- On Tue, 3/4/14, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 1:42 PM
Edith +1. Mark, sometimes regulatory action is used as a weapon when one has been unable to compete. My take is that Mpesa isn't yet the bread and butter of Safaricom. The greatest value it has is in its network effect. I suspect that Safaricom is already on the hunt for the next big thing. They are building out WiMAX networks, engaging businesses for computing needs etc. This boring stuff is where the money is. My take? CAK (CCK) needs to stand down on this one and let the market take its course. After all what else does the competition need to be done for them to compete with Safaricom? Share out subscribers through legislation? I think this isn't a perfect market but the regulator here is doing an ok job..
Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 <%200713%20601113> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 4, 2014, at 12:12 PM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca> wrote:
Mark and Listers,
If I were Safaricom, I would do exactly what they are doing and MORE! That is the nature of competition! But if the consumer behaved differently.....aka "rational consumer behaviour"......would the competition hold? ....I dont think for long!
Edith ________________________________________ From: Mark Mwangi [mwangy@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2014 1:33 AM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
@Edith the reason it doesn't work here is because of arrogance or incompetence by the competition. There is no reason as to why the small players have not ganged up and built joint infrastructure like 3G networks to rival Safaricom. I have always said hey should push for twin sim phones to make space on peoples phones but the tend to think selling galaxy phones will translate to profits.
Look at Orange. They should have a monopoly on the iPhone game but now Safaricom sell iPhone too.
Airtel treat clients like they are doing hem a favour right from the Kencell days. I don't know what Yu's strategy was.
@Dennis and @Ali I think this is a bad deal and the regulator shouldn't allow it. It will further constrict choice and thus make a mockery of the license grant in the first place.
On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:08 AM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca< mailto:eadera@idrc.ca <eadera@idrc.ca>>> wrote: BIG QUESTION Why can't Kenya sustain a "multi player" environment? Ive argued for years that it has to do with peculiar "consumer behaviour" of Kenyans. Open competition has not worked, number portability has not worked.....what will sustain a vibrant multi player environment?
I've just returned from Ghana where the 4+ players have all sorts of offerings whooing consumers left, right and centre...you have all sorts of incentives that seems to keep all players afloat....number portability works etc etc.
Why not Kenya?
What's your take?
Edith ________________________________________ From: kictanet [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke< mailto:idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke <idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke>>] on behalf of Ali Hussein [ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke<ali@hussein.me.ke>
] Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 11:47 PM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Dennis
Couldn't agree with you more.
In this particular case the regulator will do best to stand down and let market forces play out.
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113<tel:0713%20601113>
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 4, 2014, at 7:18 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com< mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com <dmbuvi@gmail.com>><mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com<dmbuvi@gmail.com> <mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com <dmbuvi@gmail.com>>>> wrote:
I thought Kenya was a liberal country, what's with everyone wanting to place regulatory hurdles on Yu's exit.
Biggest issue is Safaricom's acquisition of spectrum belonging to YU and thus putting more spectrum under them - which they badly need to improve network quality in urban areas which suffer from congestion.
Industry analysts have long predicted consolidation of MNOs in African countries to 3 or 4 per country (see an interview I did with Coleago in December http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/coleago's-chris-gives-insights-on-lte-network-sharing,-spectrum,-future-and-regulation-of-africa-telecoms# )
The buy out paves the way for licensing of MVNOs, which have an advantage of sharing existing capacity and unutilised resources rather than building out whole networks again.
On 4 Mar 2014 05:32, "Ali Hussein" <ali@hussein.me.ke< mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke <ali@hussein.me.ke>><mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke<ali@hussein.me.ke> <mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke <ali@hussein.me.ke>>>> wrote: Listers
Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue.
The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk..
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375><tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113<tel:0713%20601113><tel:0713%20601113>
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com< mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com <ict.researcher@yahoo.com>>< mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com <ict.researcher@yahoo.com>< mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com <ict.researcher@yahoo.com>>>> wrote:
For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-)
On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke <Wambua@cck.go.ke>
<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke <Wambua@cck.go.ke><mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke<Wambua@cck.go.ke>
wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation.
Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar's Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu's infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu's subscriber base < http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-see...
Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
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Walu,Listers, The primary issue here is one of "merger" which is well defined in the Competition Act,Cap504,Laws of Kenya whose primary role is to promote and safeguard competition...etc etc. .It is a telecommunications issue on secondary basis and CAK will have some role to play. In some countries, they call it "concurrent jurisdiction" and clearly define the relationship between the regulators.It does not seem so in Kenya and the real legal muscle may well lie with the Competition Authority . John Kariuki On Tuesday, 4 March 2014, 14:52, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote: @Ali, I think you are refusing to see the efficacy of MPESA in the Safaricom ecosystem. Whereas Voice still contributes their largest profit percentages, this voice market is glued together around the MPESA product. Think Microsoft of the last decade. Why was their applications so successful (MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-Exchange, etc)? Because they were build around their fairly universal and monopolistic Operating System (MS-Windows). In todays world of tablets and Smartphones and CloudComputing, the Operating system of choice has changed (from Microsoft to Android, iOS and CloudServices i.e. TCP/IP). Suddenly Microsoft finds itself exposed on their product lines (Word, Excel, etc) because they have lost the monopoly of the Operating System. Same thing with Safcom. You expose MPESA to real competition, you break their stronghold on the Voice and other data services. That is what I blogged about @http://tiny.cc/3o36bx (thnx GG for sharing :-) Safaricom is clever (that is why they are no. 1) and one can see from their recent industry moves that they are reacting appropriately. What I dont know is if CCK can also their overall game plan and what it means for the industry. Sorry, let me rephrase that - I think CCK can also see the Safaricom game plan, but I am still not sure they have the "oomph" to intervene one way or the other. At this point in time, the game has moved from being "technical", gone through being "economical" and we are now at the stage where the big boys(where are the girls :-() in politics are receiving calls from interested parties on which way the game should end. I dont have moles way up there but ladies and gentlemen this discussion (Yu acquisition) must now at a the Politcal layer. You and I can only wait and see - and run to court if we feel aggrieved by the final decisions taken. walu. -------------------------------------------- On Tue, 3/4/14, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 1:42 PM Edith +1. Mark, sometimes regulatory action is used as a weapon when one has been unable to compete. My take is that Mpesa isn't yet the bread and butter of Safaricom. The greatest value it has is in its network effect. I suspect that Safaricom is already on the hunt for the next big thing. They are building out WiMAX networks, engaging businesses for computing needs etc. This boring stuff is where the money is. My take? CAK (CCK) needs to stand down on this one and let the market take its course. After all what else does the competition need to be done for them to compete with Safaricom? Share out subscribers through legislation? I think this isn't a perfect market but the regulator here is doing an ok job.. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 4, 2014, at 12:12 PM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca> wrote: Mark and Listers, If I were Safaricom, I would do exactly what they are doing and MORE! That is the nature of competition! But if the consumer behaved differently.....aka "rational consumer behaviour"......would the competition hold? ....I dont think for long! Edith ________________________________________ From: Mark Mwangi [mwangy@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2014 1:33 AM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator @Edith the reason it doesn't work here is because of arrogance or incompetence by the competition. There is no reason as to why the small players have not ganged up and built joint infrastructure like 3G networks to rival Safaricom. I have always said hey should push for twin sim phones to make space on peoples phones but the tend to think selling galaxy phones will translate to profits. Look at Orange. They should have a monopoly on the iPhone game but now Safaricom sell iPhone too. Airtel treat clients like they are doing hem a favour right from the Kencell days. I don't know what Yu's strategy was. @Dennis and @Ali I think this is a bad deal and the regulator shouldn't allow it. It will further constrict choice and thus make a mockery of the license grant in the first place. On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:08 AM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca<mailto:eadera@idrc.ca>> wrote: BIG QUESTION Why can't Kenya sustain a "multi player" environment? Ive argued for years that it has to do with peculiar "consumer behaviour" of Kenyans. Open competition has not worked, number portability has not worked.....what will sustain a vibrant multi player environment? I've just returned from Ghana where the 4+ players have all sorts of offerings whooing consumers left, right and centre...you have all sorts of incentives that seems to keep all players afloat....number portability works etc etc. Why not Kenya? What's your take? Edith ________________________________________ From: kictanet [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:idrc.ca@lists.kictanet.or.ke>] on behalf of Ali Hussein [ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>] Sent: Monday, March 03, 2014 11:47 PM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator Dennis Couldn't agree with you more. In this particular case the regulator will do best to stand down and let market forces play out. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113<tel:0713%20601113> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 4, 2014, at 7:18 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com><mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com<mailto:dmbuvi@gmail.com>>> wrote: I thought Kenya was a liberal country, what's with everyone wanting to place regulatory hurdles on Yu's exit. Biggest issue is Safaricom's acquisition of spectrum belonging to YU and thus putting more spectrum under them - which they badly need to improve network quality in urban areas which suffer from congestion. Industry analysts have long predicted consolidation of MNOs in African countries to 3 or 4 per country (see an interview I did with Coleago in December http://www.cio.co.ke/news/main-stories/coleago's-chris-gives-insights-on-lte-network-sharing,-spectrum,-future-and-regulation-of-africa-telecoms# ) The buy out paves the way for licensing of MVNOs, which have an advantage of sharing existing capacity and unutilised resources rather than building out whole networks again. On 4 Mar 2014 05:32, "Ali Hussein" <ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke><mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>>> wrote: Listers Yu has been bleeding red ink since it launched. It was inevitable. No public review will change that. The Network Effect is clearly at play here with Safaricom. None of the other players are profitable. Orange is being kept afloat by GoK and the mother company in France. Airtel considers Kenya a loss leader because of its 'strategic' nature in Africa and hence cannot abandon it. Not sure how long that will continue. The interesting bit here is that Orange may eventually buy Safaricom because of some actions in far off cities that we have no control over...that for me is the real risk.. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375<tel:%2B254%200770%20906375><tel:%2B254%200770%20906375> / 0713 601113<tel:0713%20601113><tel:0713%20601113> "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 3, 2014, at 11:20 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com<mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com><mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com<mailto:ict.researcher@yahoo.com>>> wrote: For starters, the company's assets true worth need to be independently established and its outstanding liabilities audited. Mere reported "spend a combined $100 million" inflated with 'sweatheart deal' exit premium does not in any way reflect the much lower true worth of the exiting business persons which no doubt a consortium of Kenyans investors can raise and potentially enable consumers to migrate enmasse to 100 p.c. "MKenya Network":-) On Monday, March 3, 2014 9:44 PM, "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke><mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke<mailto:Wambua@cck.go.ke>>> wrote: The regulator has just received the application. We are in the process of reviewing the application with a view to deciding the way forward. It is therefore too early to subject the application to public consultation. Wambua Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone. From: ICT Researcher Sent: Monday, 3 March 2014 21:11 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Reply To: ICT Researcher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar’s Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu’s infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu’s subscriber base <http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-seek-to-buy-Kenyan-rival-Essars-Yu.html> Considering the profoundly adverse Triopoly consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making? _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke><mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ali%40hussein.me.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<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke><mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/dmbuvi%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<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwangy%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, Mark Mwangi markmwangi.me.ke<http://markmwangi.me.ke> _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/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. -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/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. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngethe.kariuki2007%40y... 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.
Interesting thread, my view however is that given Safaricoms portion of the addressable market we have an effective monopoly. CCK have not been tough enough on controlling the significant market power that big green yields and this has led to the demise and poor health of their so called competitors. Why should we be discussing MVNOs now, when this is a lifeline that could have been thrown to the ailing telcos several years ago? IMHO we should have had MVNOS licensing introduced 10+ years ago. Now we have too little, too late... On Thursday, March 6, 2014, John Kariuki <ngethe.kariuki2007@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
Walu,Listers,
The primary issue here is one of "merger" which is well defined in the Competition Act,Cap504,Laws of Kenya whose primary role is to promote and safeguard competition...etc etc. .It is a telecommunications issue on secondary basis and CAK will have some role to play. In some countries, they call it "concurrent jurisdiction" and clearly define the relationship between the regulators.It does not seem so in Kenya and the real legal muscle may well lie with the Competition Authority .
John Kariuki
On Tuesday, 4 March 2014, 14:52, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','jwalu@yahoo.com');>> wrote: @Ali,
I think you are refusing to see the efficacy of MPESA in the Safaricom ecosystem. Whereas Voice still contributes their largest profit percentages, this voice market is glued together around the MPESA product.
Think Microsoft of the last decade. Why was their applications so successful (MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-Exchange, etc)? Because they were build around their fairly universal and monopolistic Operating System (MS-Windows). In todays world of tablets and Smartphones and CloudComputing, the Operating system of choice has changed (from Microsoft to Android, iOS and CloudServices i.e. TCP/IP).
Suddenly Microsoft finds itself exposed on their product lines (Word, Excel, etc) because they have lost the monopoly of the Operating System. Same thing with Safcom. You expose MPESA to real competition, you break their stronghold on the Voice and other data services. That is what I blogged about @http://tiny.cc/3o36bx (thnx GG for sharing :-)
Safaricom is clever (that is why they are no. 1) and one can see from their recent industry moves that they are reacting appropriately. What I dont know is if CCK can also their overall game plan and what it means for the industry. Sorry, let me rephrase that - I think CCK can also see the Safaricom game plan, but I am still not sure they have the "oomph" to intervene one way or the other.
At this point in time, the game has moved from being "technical", gone through being "economical" and we are now at the stage where the big boys(where are the girls :-() in politics are receiving calls from interested parties on which way the game should end. I dont have moles way up there but ladies and gentlemen this discussion (Yu acquisition) must now at a the Politcal layer.
You and I can only wait and see - and run to court if we feel aggrieved by the final decisions taken.
walu. -------------------------------------------- On Tue, 3/4/14, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 1:42 PM
Edith +1. Mark, sometimes regulatory action is used as a weapon when one has been unable to compete. My take is that Mpesa isn't yet the bread and butter of Safaricom. The greatest value it has is in its network effect. I suspect that Safaricom is already on the hunt for the next big thing. They are building out WiMAX networks, engaging businesses for computing needs etc. This boring stuff is where the money is. My take? CAK (CCK) needs to stand down on this one and let the market take its course. After all what else does the competition need to be done for them to compete with Safaricom? Share out subscribers through legislation? I think this isn't a perfect market but the regulator here is doing an ok job..
Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 4, 2014, at 12:12 PM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca> wrote:
Mark and Listers,
If I were Safaricom, I would do exactly what they are doing and MORE! That is the nature of competition! But if the consumer behaved differently.....aka "rational consumer behaviour"......would the competition hold? ....I dont think for long!
Edith ________________________________________ From: Mark Mwangi [
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
In 2012 CCK made a bold announcement about reinstating the glide path for MTR and shared the following figures, to what extent has this been achieved? *1. **Call Mobile Termination Prices* *Nominal KES.* *1st July 2010* *1st July 2011* *1st July 2012* *1st July 2013* *1st July 2014* Mobile Termination 2.21 2.21 1.44 1.15 0.99 On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 10:00 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe@gmail.com>wrote:
Interesting thread, my view however is that given Safaricoms portion of the addressable market we have an effective monopoly. CCK have not been tough enough on controlling the significant market power that big green yields and this has led to the demise and poor health of their so called competitors.
Why should we be discussing MVNOs now, when this is a lifeline that could have been thrown to the ailing telcos several years ago? IMHO we should have had MVNOS licensing introduced 10+ years ago.
Now we have too little, too late...
On Thursday, March 6, 2014, John Kariuki <ngethe.kariuki2007@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
Walu,Listers,
The primary issue here is one of "merger" which is well defined in the Competition Act,Cap504,Laws of Kenya whose primary role is to promote and safeguard competition...etc etc. .It is a telecommunications issue on secondary basis and CAK will have some role to play. In some countries, they call it "concurrent jurisdiction" and clearly define the relationship between the regulators.It does not seem so in Kenya and the real legal muscle may well lie with the Competition Authority .
John Kariuki
On Tuesday, 4 March 2014, 14:52, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote: @Ali,
I think you are refusing to see the efficacy of MPESA in the Safaricom ecosystem. Whereas Voice still contributes their largest profit percentages, this voice market is glued together around the MPESA product.
Think Microsoft of the last decade. Why was their applications so successful (MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-Exchange, etc)? Because they were build around their fairly universal and monopolistic Operating System (MS-Windows). In todays world of tablets and Smartphones and CloudComputing, the Operating system of choice has changed (from Microsoft to Android, iOS and CloudServices i.e. TCP/IP).
Suddenly Microsoft finds itself exposed on their product lines (Word, Excel, etc) because they have lost the monopoly of the Operating System. Same thing with Safcom. You expose MPESA to real competition, you break their stronghold on the Voice and other data services. That is what I blogged about @http://tiny.cc/3o36bx (thnx GG for sharing :-)
Safaricom is clever (that is why they are no. 1) and one can see from their recent industry moves that they are reacting appropriately. What I dont know is if CCK can also their overall game plan and what it means for the industry. Sorry, let me rephrase that - I think CCK can also see the Safaricom game plan, but I am still not sure they have the "oomph" to intervene one way or the other.
At this point in time, the game has moved from being "technical", gone through being "economical" and we are now at the stage where the big boys(where are the girls :-() in politics are receiving calls from interested parties on which way the game should end. I dont have moles way up there but ladies and gentlemen this discussion (Yu acquisition) must now at a the Politcal layer.
You and I can only wait and see - and run to court if we feel aggrieved by the final decisions taken.
walu. -------------------------------------------- On Tue, 3/4/14, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator To: jwalu@yahoo.com Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 1:42 PM
Edith +1. Mark, sometimes regulatory action is used as a weapon when one has been unable to compete. My take is that Mpesa isn't yet the bread and butter of Safaricom. The greatest value it has is in its network effect. I suspect that Safaricom is already on the hunt for the next big thing. They are building out WiMAX networks, engaging businesses for computing needs etc. This boring stuff is where the money is. My take? CAK (CCK) needs to stand down on this one and let the market take its course. After all what else does the competition need to be done for them to compete with Safaricom? Share out subscribers through legislation? I think this isn't a perfect market but the regulator here is doing an ok job..
Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 4, 2014, at 12:12 PM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca> wrote:
Mark and Listers,
If I were Safaricom, I would do exactly what they are doing and MORE! That is the nature of competition! But if the consumer behaved differently.....aka "rational consumer behaviour"......would the competition hold? ....I dont think for long!
Edith ________________________________________ From: Mark Mwangi [
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.
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
Brian, We at the penultimate stage of the glide path i.e. at KES. 1.15. Christopher Wambua Manager - Communications Consumer and Public Affairs Department Communications Commission of Kenya P.O. Box 14448 NAIROBI 00800 Tel: +254 20 4242209 info@cck.go.ke<mailto:info@cck.go.ke> www.cck.go.ke<http://www.cck.go.ke> From: kictanet [mailto:kictanet-bounces+wambua=cck.go.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Brian Munyao Longwe Sent: Monday, March 10, 2014 2:58 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator In 2012 CCK made a bold announcement about reinstating the glide path for MTR and shared the following figures, to what extent has this been achieved? 1. Call Mobile Termination Prices Nominal KES. 1st July 2010 1st July 2011 1st July 2012 1st July 2013 1st July 2014 Mobile Termination 2.21 2.21 1.44 1.15 0.99 On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 10:00 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe@gmail.com<mailto:blongwe@gmail.com>> wrote: Interesting thread, my view however is that given Safaricoms portion of the addressable market we have an effective monopoly. CCK have not been tough enough on controlling the significant market power that big green yields and this has led to the demise and poor health of their so called competitors. Why should we be discussing MVNOs now, when this is a lifeline that could have been thrown to the ailing telcos several years ago? IMHO we should have had MVNOS licensing introduced 10+ years ago. Now we have too little, too late... On Thursday, March 6, 2014, John Kariuki <ngethe.kariuki2007@yahoo.co.uk<mailto:ngethe.kariuki2007@yahoo.co.uk>> wrote: Walu,Listers, The primary issue here is one of "merger" which is well defined in the Competition Act,Cap504,Laws of Kenya whose primary role is to promote and safeguard competition...etc etc. .It is a telecommunications issue on secondary basis and CAK will have some role to play. In some countries, they call it "concurrent jurisdiction" and clearly define the relationship between the regulators.It does not seem so in Kenya and the real legal muscle may well lie with the Competition Authority . John Kariuki On Tuesday, 4 March 2014, 14:52, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com<mailto:jwalu@yahoo.com>> wrote: @Ali, I think you are refusing to see the efficacy of MPESA in the Safaricom ecosystem. Whereas Voice still contributes their largest profit percentages, this voice market is glued together around the MPESA product. Think Microsoft of the last decade. Why was their applications so successful (MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-Exchange, etc)? Because they were build around their fairly universal and monopolistic Operating System (MS-Windows). In todays world of tablets and Smartphones and CloudComputing, the Operating system of choice has changed (from Microsoft to Android, iOS and CloudServices i.e. TCP/IP). Suddenly Microsoft finds itself exposed on their product lines (Word, Excel, etc) because they have lost the monopoly of the Operating System. Same thing with Safcom. You expose MPESA to real competition, you break their stronghold on the Voice and other data services. That is what I blogged about @http://tiny.cc/3o36bx (thnx GG for sharing :-) Safaricom is clever (that is why they are no. 1) and one can see from their recent industry moves that they are reacting appropriately. What I dont know is if CCK can also their overall game plan and what it means for the industry. Sorry, let me rephrase that - I think CCK can also see the Safaricom game plan, but I am still not sure they have the "oomph" to intervene one way or the other. At this point in time, the game has moved from being "technical", gone through being "economical" and we are now at the stage where the big boys(where are the girls :-() in politics are receiving calls from interested parties on which way the game should end. I dont have moles way up there but ladies and gentlemen this discussion (Yu acquisition) must now at a the Politcal layer. You and I can only wait and see - and run to court if we feel aggrieved by the final decisions taken. walu. -------------------------------------------- On Tue, 3/4/14, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke<mailto:ali@hussein.me.ke>> wrote: Subject: Re: [kictanet] Yu acquisition proposal to regulator To: jwalu@yahoo.com<mailto:jwalu@yahoo.com> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>> Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 1:42 PM Edith +1. Mark, sometimes regulatory action is used as a weapon when one has been unable to compete. My take is that Mpesa isn't yet the bread and butter of Safaricom. The greatest value it has is in its network effect. I suspect that Safaricom is already on the hunt for the next big thing. They are building out WiMAX networks, engaging businesses for computing needs etc. This boring stuff is where the money is. My take? CAK (CCK) needs to stand down on this one and let the market take its course. After all what else does the competition need to be done for them to compete with Safaricom? Share out subscribers through legislation? I think this isn't a perfect market but the regulator here is doing an ok job.. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad On Mar 4, 2014, at 12:12 PM, Edith Adera <eadera@idrc.ca<mailto:eadera@idrc.ca>> wrote: Mark and Listers, If I were Safaricom, I would do exactly what they are doing and MORE! That is the nature of competition! But if the consumer behaved differently.....aka "rational consumer behaviour"......would the competition hold? ....I dont think for long! Edith ________________________________________ From: Mark Mwangi [ 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<mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngethe.kariuki2007%40y... 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.
Public dialogue on the proposal is absolutely necessary even at this stage. At the moment the matter may sound like just a small conversation between a few entrepreneurs, yet this is a matter that potentially has huge ramifications for the subsequent trend and outlook of the industry at large. Of course the situation in which YuMobile has found itself in arouses genuine sympathy. No one in this world would be impressed to helplessly watch as their investment perpetually sheds off its glory. The debate about the impending acquisition of Yu Mobile by Safcom and Airtel must be subjected to a rigorous public discourse. As a priority it is important to clarify what assets and titles can legitimately be passed on by YuMobile to a prospective buyer. Various aspects come to mind at this stage 1. YuMobiles Assets including infrastructure 2. YuMobiles liabilities including customer mobile money balances (YuCash deposits) and unspent airtime 3. YuMobile license- This belongs to CCK who hold it in trust for Kenyans 4. YuMobile subscribers. 5. Owners Equity-This is the unmutilated part of the investment that owners are probably seeking to salvage within the next few seconds before further depreciation occurs So what are the implications of this reality? 1. That YuMobile is a multi-stakeholder entity- Hence no single stakeholder can singularly purport to drag the rest into any deal that alters their bonafide interests without seeking consent. 2. YuMobile can dispose off its assets as it wishes on condition that it first offsets its all its liabilities particularly those owed to subscribers 3. Once it has been deemed clear that YuMobile's existence in the market is no longer sustainable, the license granted to YuMobile must be returned for safe custody to CCK pending the next step. 4. Upon receiving the license CCK must subject the license to a fresh bidding process so that any investor willing to inject new market methodologies gets an opportunity. For the avoidance of doubt, only the regulator can grant or cancel an existent license. Therefore, in the event that YuMobile folds up or is bought off, the license will remain intact. It cannot simply be "swallowed" through a business deal. 5. The suggestion that YuMobile can transfer subscribers to Airtel is a hoax. Airtel is about to be conned. Those subscribers went for YuMobile knowingly and fully aware of the existence of Airtel. I plead with Airtel not pay a single cent in the name of buying subscribers. If they truly love you, they will voluntarily surrender themselves into your tender arms once YuMobile has vacated. There is no way you will subject them to a forced marriage when they can easily purchase another SIM card from a service Provider of their choice for only 20 bob. Please avoid buying "quails" 6. If YuMobile key owners have fully made up their mind to call it quits, lets offer them a flexible exit plan as long as all sides are properly balanced. There is no point watching a victim bleed to death simply by subjecting him to unnecessary ceremonies. CCK should facilitate a tenable exit plan while ensuring that public interest is not compromised Kamotho Njenga On Mon, Mar 3, 2014 at 9:07 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com>wrote:
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar's Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu's infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu's subscriber base < http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-see...
Considering the profoundly adverse *Triopoly *consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
Caveat Emptor? I'm quite sure the players involved (CCK, Airtel, Safaricom) have considered various options - if Airtel feels it has money to waste, good for them. YU was on the open market for a while, any of the players who would bid for a new license considered buying an established business (with customers and some revenues, lack of profits notwithstanding). Equity Bank never intended to buy YU. It applied to be an MVNO, meaning that it did not want to run it's own infrastructure so buying Essar must have been off the table for them. On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 2:11 PM, Kamotho Njenga <kamothonjenga@gmail.com>wrote:
Public dialogue on the proposal is absolutely necessary even at this stage. At the moment the matter may sound like just a small conversation between a few entrepreneurs, yet this is a matter that potentially has huge ramifications for the subsequent trend and outlook of the industry at large. Of course the situation in which YuMobile has found itself in arouses genuine sympathy. No one in this world would be impressed to helplessly watch as their investment perpetually sheds off its glory.
The debate about the impending acquisition of Yu Mobile by Safcom and Airtel must be subjected to a rigorous public discourse. As a priority it is important to clarify what assets and titles can legitimately be passed on by YuMobile to a prospective buyer. Various aspects come to mind at this stage 1. YuMobiles Assets including infrastructure 2. YuMobiles liabilities including customer mobile money balances (YuCash deposits) and unspent airtime 3. YuMobile license- This belongs to CCK who hold it in trust for Kenyans 4. YuMobile subscribers. 5. Owners Equity-This is the unmutilated part of the investment that owners are probably seeking to salvage within the next few seconds before further depreciation occurs
So what are the implications of this reality?
1. That YuMobile is a multi-stakeholder entity- Hence no single stakeholder can singularly purport to drag the rest into any deal that alters their bonafide interests without seeking consent. 2. YuMobile can dispose off its assets as it wishes on condition that it first offsets its all its liabilities particularly those owed to subscribers 3. Once it has been deemed clear that YuMobile's existence in the market is no longer sustainable, the license granted to YuMobile must be returned for safe custody to CCK pending the next step. 4. Upon receiving the license CCK must subject the license to a fresh bidding process so that any investor willing to inject new market methodologies gets an opportunity. For the avoidance of doubt, only the regulator can grant or cancel an existent license. Therefore, in the event that YuMobile folds up or is bought off, the license will remain intact. It cannot simply be "swallowed" through a business deal. 5. The suggestion that YuMobile can transfer subscribers to Airtel is a hoax. Airtel is about to be conned. Those subscribers went for YuMobile knowingly and fully aware of the existence of Airtel. I plead with Airtel not pay a single cent in the name of buying subscribers. If they truly love you, they will voluntarily surrender themselves into your tender arms once YuMobile has vacated. There is no way you will subject them to a forced marriage when they can easily purchase another SIM card from a service Provider of their choice for only 20 bob. Please avoid buying "quails" 6. If YuMobile key owners have fully made up their mind to call it quits, lets offer them a flexible exit plan as long as all sides are properly balanced. There is no point watching a victim bleed to death simply by subjecting him to unnecessary ceremonies. CCK should facilitate a tenable exit plan while ensuring that public interest is not compromised
Kamotho Njenga
On Mon, Mar 3, 2014 at 9:07 PM, ICT Researcher <ict.researcher@yahoo.com>wrote:
Airtel, Safaricom seek to buy Essar's Yu in Kenya - Safaricom will get Yu's infrastructure, while Airtel is expected to acquire Yu's subscriber base < http://www.livemint.com/Industry/BZZuR21BJsoJf6jksBhnVN/Airtel-Safaricom-see...
Considering the profoundly adverse *Triopoly *consumer choice consequences, Should the regulator not initiate a public consultation before decision making?
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Warm Regards, Phares Kariuki | *T*: +254 720 406 093 | *E*: pkariuki@gmail.com | *Twitter*: kaboro |* Skype*: kariukiphares | *B*: http://www.kaboro.com/ |
participants (13)
-
Ali Hussein -
Brian Munyao Longwe -
Dennis Kioko -
Edith Adera -
ICT Researcher -
John Kariuki -
Kamotho Njenga -
Mark Mwangi -
Odhiambo Washington -
Peter Wakaba -
Phares Kariuki -
Walubengo J -
Wambua, Christopher