IN SUMMARYTwo weeks ago, officials from Airtel and Essar’s Yu sought the intervention of President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga in the freeze of the Mobile Termination Rate (MTR).It was the second time that the two operators were seeking such intervention, the first was in June last year.The industry regulator, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), also found itself in a dilemma, especially after the Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) issued a warning that it would sue CCK if the regulator implemented a lower MTR before a fresh study is conducted.Both Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga have indicated that they are keen on the implementation of the MTR after a study has been done, a view held by Safaricom and Telkom’s Kenya Orange in which the government has substantial shares.On June 8, 2011 Mr Odinga received a report from the taskforce on the Mobile Telephone Industry Business in Kenya. Among the key recommendations made by the taskforce were that CCK undertakes a review of the existing MTR glide path in consultation with operators.Six days before Mr Odinga received the taskforce’s report, Mr Kibaki had issued a directive to the CCK board freezing further cuts in the MTR.In appealing to the government, the operators were divided into two opposing camps. Airtel and Yu were pushing for a further reduction in MTR to enable them drive the price war home as a strategy aimed at grabbing more market share. Safaricom and Telkom Kenya were opposed to a reduction in MTR, aware that it could lead to an erosion in their market shares. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate+News/Mobile+operators+now+take+...