Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability
Hi. Interesting development this must be. We would be happy to have your views on this article below appearing on "Airtel Kenya" Facebook page (which we are unsure if it is the company's official page). Kind regards, Stephen Stephen Mutoro Secretary General Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) Natu Court, Block F-45 Ngong Road/Ring Rd Kilimani Junction P.O Box 2733-00200, City Square, NAIROBI, Kenya Tel. 254-20-3861718, 3861719, 2300859 Fax. 254-20-3861719 Cellphones: 0715555550, 0736965590, 0770700007 E-mail: <mailto:hotline@cofek.co.ke> hotline@cofek.co.ke Website: <http://www.cofek.co.ke/> www.cofek.co.ke ************************* Restoring Consumer Pride and Confidence! airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability by Airtel Kenya <http://www.facebook.com/pages/Airtel-Kenya/122273904502736> on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 3:46pm April 12, 2011. The success of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Kenya is at risk with reports indicating that some operators may be employing under hand tactics to sabotage the MNP process, barely a week after its launch. While lauding the Communications Communication of Kenya for making MNP a reality at an event to welcome the very first customers moving to airtel from other networks today, Managing Director Rene Meza raised a red flag saying several anti-competition tactics were being used to block customers seeking to move to its network. He said that whereas initial technical hiccups in the implementation process had been deemed to be normal and expected, it is now emerging that some operators are reluctant to address the bottlenecks expeditiously, going against the spirit of MNP project of giving the customer freedom to own their number and move to the network of their choice within the stipulated terms. "How do you explain several complaints received from customers who have opted to move their number to airtel from Safaricom being unable to receive calls from Safaricom numbers for several days, while they are able to communicate on all platforms on the airtel network with the same number?" posed Mr. Meza. He said contrary to the regulations issued by the Communications Commission of Kenya, some operators, especially Safaricom, were still trying to woo back customers who had already ported out of their network. "It is amazing that after completing the 48 hour porting process, some players had deliberately declined to de-activate the old sim cards from their network. In essence, what this means is that the customer has not completely moved to his network of choice but is still held captive by Safaricom, an act that is anti patriotic and gross abuse of dominance by Safaricom clearly designed to beat efforts of the Government to fully liberalize the sector" he said. Prior to the implementation of MNP, all operators had expressed commitment to ensure the service was implemented smoothly, a move that was seen as another milestone in Kenya's telecommunication sector. Largely seen as the next frontier in the battle for subscribers, the successful implementation of MNP is a test-case for CCK's commitment to overseeing reforms in Kenya's telecommunication sector. Mr. Meza added: "We have referred the matter to CCK since we feel that if the anti-competition tendencies are not weeded out at the onset, customers may not get a chance to enjoy real freedom and benefits of MNP. - END -
That complaint by Airtel did not come as a surprise to me. For, there had been tale tell signs from the beginning. First, Safarisom had been the least enthusiastic about number portability. This was understable to me, though, because, as the market leader they stood to loose the most. But then I had not anticipated renegade behaviour from Safaricom and, worse still, failure to tame this kind of anti competition behaviour by the Communications Commission of Kenya. There are several things Safaricom is doing: First, they just dont complete the porting process of those who want to move from Safaricom to another provider. Second, where the porting is completed at all, they block the line, so the subscriber finds that he/she cannot be reached. This, in any fair business environment, is unacceptable and it would not have waited until one side cries foul. Someone at CCK is clearly sleeping on the job. OTSIENO NAMWAYA P.O BOX 7509 - 00200 +254-733-893550 NAIROBI KENYA From: stephen@cofek.co.ke Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:08:38 +0300 Subject: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability CC: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke To: onamwaya@hotmail.com Hi. Interesting development this must be. We would be happy to have your views on this article below appearing on “Airtel Kenya” Facebook page (which we are unsure if it is the company’s official page). Kind regards, Stephen Stephen Mutoro Secretary General Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) Natu Court, Block F-45 Ngong Road/Ring Rd Kilimani Junction P.O Box 2733-00200, City Square, NAIROBI, Kenya Tel. 254-20-3861718, 3861719, 2300859 Fax. 254-20-3861719 Cellphones: 0715555550, 0736965590, 0770700007 E-mail: hotline@cofek.co.ke Website: www.cofek.co.ke ************************* Restoring Consumer Pride and Confidence! airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability by Airtel Kenya on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 3:46pm April 12, 2011… The success of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Kenya is at risk with reports indicating that some operators may be employing under hand tactics to sabotage the MNP process, barely a week after its launch. While lauding the Communications Communication of Kenya for making MNP a reality at an event to welcome the very first customers moving to airtel from other networks today, Managing Director Rene Meza raised a red flag saying several anti-competition tactics were being used to block customers seeking to move to its network. He said that whereas initial technical hiccups in the implementation process had been deemed to be normal and expected, it is now emerging that some operators are reluctant to address the bottlenecks expeditiously, going against the spirit of MNP project of giving the customer freedom to own their number and move to the network of their choice within the stipulated terms. “How do you explain several complaints received from customers who have opted to move their number to airtel from Safaricom being unable to receive calls from Safaricom numbers for several days, while they are able to communicate on all platforms on the airtel network with the same number?” posed Mr. Meza. He said contrary to the regulations issued by the Communications Commission of Kenya, some operators, especially Safaricom, were still trying to woo back customers who had already ported out of their network. “It is amazing that after completing the 48 hour porting process, some players had deliberately declined to de-activate the old sim cards from their network. In essence, what this means is that the customer has not completely moved to his network of choice but is still held captive by Safaricom, an act that is anti patriotic and gross abuse of dominance by Safaricom clearly designed to beat efforts of the Government to fully liberalize the sector” he said. Prior to the implementation of MNP, all operators had expressed commitment to ensure the service was implemented smoothly, a move that was seen as another milestone in Kenya’s telecommunication sector. Largely seen as the next frontier in the battle for subscribers, the successful implementation of MNP is a test-case for CCK’s commitment to overseeing reforms in Kenya’s telecommunication sector. Mr. Meza added: “We have referred the matter to CCK since we feel that if the anti-competition tendencies are not weeded out at the onset, customers may not get a chance to enjoy real freedom and benefits of MNP. - END - _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/onamwaya%40hotmail.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.
so why are you assuming that Airtels claims are correct? could be simply manipulation of opinion. does anyone know of someone who has experienced any foul play? On Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 4:47 PM, otsieno namwaya <onamwaya@hotmail.com>wrote:
That complaint by Airtel did not come as a surprise to me. For, there had been tale tell signs from the beginning. First, Safarisom had been the least enthusiastic about number portability. This was understable to me, though, because, as the market leader they stood to loose the most. But then I had not anticipated renegade behaviour from Safaricom and, worse still, failure to tame this kind of anti competition behaviour by the Communications Commission of Kenya. There are several things Safaricom is doing: First, they just dont complete the porting process of those who want to move from Safaricom to another provider. Second, where the porting is completed at all, they block the line, so the subscriber finds that he/she cannot be reached. This, in any fair business environment, is unacceptable and it would not have waited until one side cries foul. Someone at CCK is clearly sleeping on the job.
OTSIENO NAMWAYA P.O BOX 7509 - 00200 +254-733-893550 NAIROBI KENYA
------------------------------ From: stephen@cofek.co.ke Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:08:38 +0300 Subject: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability CC: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke To: onamwaya@hotmail.com
Hi. Interesting development this must be. We would be happy to have your views on this article below appearing on “Airtel Kenya” Facebook page (which we are unsure if it is the company’s official page).
Kind regards,
Stephen
Stephen Mutoro
*Secretary General*
Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK)
Natu Court, Block F-45
Ngong Road/Ring Rd Kilimani Junction
P.O Box 2733-00200, City Square, NAIROBI, Kenya
Tel. 254-20-3861718, 3861719, 2300859
Fax. 254-20-3861719
Cellphones: 0715555550, 0736965590, 0770700007
E-mail: hotline@cofek.co.ke
Website: www.cofek.co.ke**
*************************
*Restoring Consumer Pride and Confidence!* airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability
by Airtel Kenya<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Airtel-Kenya/122273904502736>on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 3:46pm April 12, 2011… The success of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Kenya is at risk with reports indicating that some operators may be employing under hand tactics to sabotage the MNP process, barely a week after its launch. While lauding the Communications Communication of Kenya for making MNP a reality at an event to welcome the very first customers moving to airtel from other networks today, Managing Director Rene Meza raised a red flag saying several anti-competition tactics were being used to block customers seeking to move to its network. He said that whereas initial technical hiccups in the implementation process had been deemed to be normal and expected, it is now emerging that some operators are reluctant to address the bottlenecks expeditiously, going against the spirit of MNP project of giving the customer freedom to own their number and move to the network of their choice within the stipulated terms. “How do you explain several complaints received from customers who have opted to move their number to airtel from Safaricom being unable to receive calls from Safaricom numbers for several days, while they are able to communicate on all platforms on the airtel network with the same number?” posed Mr. Meza. He said contrary to the regulations issued by the Communications Commission of Kenya, some operators, especially Safaricom, were still trying to woo back customers who had already ported out of their network. “It is amazing that after completing the 48 hour porting process, some players had deliberately declined to de-activate the old sim cards from their network. In essence, what this means is that the customer has not completely moved to his network of choice but is still held captive by Safaricom, an act that is anti patriotic and gross abuse of dominance by Safaricom clearly designed to beat efforts of the Government to fully liberalize the sector” he said. Prior to the implementation of MNP, all operators had expressed commitment to ensure the service was implemented smoothly, a move that was seen as another milestone in Kenya’s telecommunication sector. Largely seen as the next frontier in the battle for subscribers, the successful implementation of MNP is a test-case for CCK’s commitment to overseeing reforms in Kenya’s telecommunication sector. Mr. Meza added: “We have referred the matter to CCK since we feel that if the anti-competition tendencies are not weeded out at the onset, customers may not get a chance to enjoy real freedom and benefits of MNP. - END -
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/onamwaya%40hotmail.comT... 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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Unsubscribe or change your options at http://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 http://mwangy.posterous.com Skype : mark.mwangy
Mark Mwangi, It is true that Airtel could just be attemtping to manipulate public opinion. It is notable however that Safaricom has not denied the allegations. In fact, reading through what they have posted on their website, they are making counter claims and allegations against their competitor, accusing them of not providing adequate information to subsecribers who want to shift. I read that to mean that Safarisom is attempting a justification of their actions as alleged, especially where they are shy of a point by point rebuttal, at least in the interest of the market and fairness to the consumers. But I would be glad to be corrected on this, and this is only when the CCK and Porting Access Kenya will show some mettle and lend credibility to a process they started. What we must avoid is the temptation to hide behind the unknown to dismiss the known. OTSIENO NAMWAYA P.O BOX 7509 - 00200 +254-733-893550 NAIROBI KENYA From: mwangy@gmail.com Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:58:25 +0300 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability To: onamwaya@hotmail.com CC: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke so why are you assuming that Airtels claims are correct? could be simply manipulation of opinion. does anyone know of someone who has experienced any foul play? On Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 4:47 PM, otsieno namwaya <onamwaya@hotmail.com> wrote: That complaint by Airtel did not come as a surprise to me. For, there had been tale tell signs from the beginning. First, Safarisom had been the least enthusiastic about number portability. This was understable to me, though, because, as the market leader they stood to loose the most. But then I had not anticipated renegade behaviour from Safaricom and, worse still, failure to tame this kind of anti competition behaviour by the Communications Commission of Kenya. There are several things Safaricom is doing: First, they just dont complete the porting process of those who want to move from Safaricom to another provider. Second, where the porting is completed at all, they block the line, so the subscriber finds that he/she cannot be reached. This, in any fair business environment, is unacceptable and it would not have waited until one side cries foul. Someone at CCK is clearly sleeping on the job. OTSIENO NAMWAYA P.O BOX 7509 - 00200 +254-733-893550 NAIROBI KENYA From: stephen@cofek.co.ke Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:08:38 +0300 Subject: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability CC: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke To: onamwaya@hotmail.com Hi. Interesting development this must be. We would be happy to have your views on this article below appearing on “Airtel Kenya” Facebook page (which we are unsure if it is the company’s official page). Kind regards, Stephen Stephen Mutoro Secretary General Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) Natu Court, Block F-45 Ngong Road/Ring Rd Kilimani Junction P.O Box 2733-00200, City Square, NAIROBI, Kenya Tel. 254-20-3861718, 3861719, 2300859 Fax. 254-20-3861719 Cellphones: 0715555550, 0736965590, 0770700007 E-mail: hotline@cofek.co.ke Website: www.cofek.co.ke ************************* Restoring Consumer Pride and Confidence! airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability by Airtel Kenya on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 3:46pmApril 12, 2011… The success of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Kenya is at risk with reports indicating that some operators may be employing under hand tactics to sabotage the MNP process, barely a week after its launch. While lauding the Communications Communication of Kenya for making MNP a reality at an event to welcome the very first customers moving to airtel from other networks today, Managing Director Rene Meza raised a red flag saying several anti-competition tactics were being used to block customers seeking to move to its network. He said that whereas initial technical hiccups in the implementation process had been deemed to be normal and expected, it is now emerging that some operators are reluctant to address the bottlenecks expeditiously, going against the spirit of MNP project of giving the customer freedom to own their number and move to the network of their choice within the stipulated terms. “How do you explain several complaints received from customers who have opted to move their number to airtel from Safaricom being unable to receive calls from Safaricom numbers for several days, while they are able to communicate on all platforms on the airtel network with the same number?” posed Mr. Meza. He said contrary to the regulations issued by the Communications Commission of Kenya, some operators, especially Safaricom, were still trying to woo back customers who had already ported out of their network. “It is amazing that after completing the 48 hour porting process, some players had deliberately declined to de-activate the old sim cards from their network. In essence, what this means is that the customer has not completely moved to his network of choice but is still held captive by Safaricom, an act that is anti patriotic and gross abuse of dominance by Safaricom clearly designed to beat efforts of the Government to fully liberalize the sector” he said. Prior to the implementation of MNP, all operators had expressed commitment to ensure the service was implemented smoothly, a move that was seen as another milestone in Kenya’s telecommunication sector. Largely seen as the next frontier in the battle for subscribers, the successful implementation of MNP is a test-case for CCK’s commitment to overseeing reforms in Kenya’s telecommunication sector. Mr. Meza added: “We have referred the matter to CCK since we feel that if the anti-competition tendencies are not weeded out at the onset, customers may not get a chance to enjoy real freedom and benefits of MNP. - END - _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/onamwaya%40hotmail.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 http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at http://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 http://mwangy.posterous.com Skype : mark.mwangy
Otsieno, No one in the Commission is sleeping on their job. The Commission received formal complaints in regard to this matter from porting subscribers as well as from a section of the mobile industry. In response, CCK yesterday afternoon convened a meeting of the Legal, Process and Technical Working Groups with a view to resolving the issues in order to ensure that consumers enjoy seamless services as they port their numbers to the networks of their choice. During the meeting, the two operators explained the technical problems that they have been experiencing and committed to remedy them within the shortest time possible. CCK is scheduled to meet with all the CEOs of the four mobile operators today to ensure that the commitments agreed on in respect to MNP are secured at the highest level. The Commission is sparing no effort to ensure that the technical hitches are resolved within the shortest time possible. From: kictanet-bounces+wambua=cck.go.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+wambua=cck.go.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of otsieno namwaya Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2011 6:57 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Cc: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability Mark Mwangi, It is true that Airtel could just be attemtping to manipulate public opinion. It is notable however that Safaricom has not denied the allegations. In fact, reading through what they have posted on their website, they are making counter claims and allegations against their competitor, accusing them of not providing adequate information to subsecribers who want to shift. I read that to mean that Safarisom is attempting a justification of their actions as alleged, especially where they are shy of a point by point rebuttal, at least in the interest of the market and fairness to the consumers. But I would be glad to be corrected on this, and this is only when the CCK and Porting Access Kenya will show some mettle and lend credibility to a process they started. What we must avoid is the temptation to hide behind the unknown to dismiss the known. OTSIENO NAMWAYA P.O BOX 7509 - 00200 +254-733-893550 NAIROBI KENYA ________________________________ From: mwangy@gmail.com Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:58:25 +0300 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability To: onamwaya@hotmail.com CC: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke so why are you assuming that Airtels claims are correct? could be simply manipulation of opinion. does anyone know of someone who has experienced any foul play? On Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 4:47 PM, otsieno namwaya <onamwaya@hotmail.com> wrote: That complaint by Airtel did not come as a surprise to me. For, there had been tale tell signs from the beginning. First, Safarisom had been the least enthusiastic about number portability. This was understable to me, though, because, as the market leader they stood to loose the most. But then I had not anticipated renegade behaviour from Safaricom and, worse still, failure to tame this kind of anti competition behaviour by the Communications Commission of Kenya. There are several things Safaricom is doing: First, they just dont complete the porting process of those who want to move from Safaricom to another provider. Second, where the porting is completed at all, they block the line, so the subscriber finds that he/she cannot be reached. This, in any fair business environment, is unacceptable and it would not have waited until one side cries foul. Someone at CCK is clearly sleeping on the job. OTSIENO NAMWAYA P.O BOX 7509 - 00200 +254-733-893550 NAIROBI KENYA ________________________________ From: stephen@cofek.co.ke Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:08:38 +0300 Subject: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability CC: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke To: onamwaya@hotmail.com Hi. Interesting development this must be. We would be happy to have your views on this article below appearing on "Airtel Kenya" Facebook page (which we are unsure if it is the company's official page). Kind regards, Stephen Stephen Mutoro Secretary General Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) Natu Court, Block F-45 Ngong Road/Ring Rd Kilimani Junction P.O Box 2733-00200, City Square, NAIROBI, Kenya Tel. 254-20-3861718, 3861719, 2300859 Fax. 254-20-3861719 Cellphones: 0715555550, 0736965590, 0770700007 E-mail: hotline@cofek.co.ke Website: www.cofek.co.ke <http://www.cofek.co.ke/> ************************* Restoring Consumer Pride and Confidence! airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability by Airtel Kenya <http://www.facebook.com/pages/Airtel-Kenya/122273904502736> on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 3:46pm April 12, 2011... The success of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Kenya is at risk with reports indicating that some operators may be employing under hand tactics to sabotage the MNP process, barely a week after its launch. While lauding the Communications Communication of Kenya for making MNP a reality at an event to welcome the very first customers moving to airtel from other networks today, Managing Director Rene Meza raised a red flag saying several anti-competition tactics were being used to block customers seeking to move to its network. He said that whereas initial technical hiccups in the implementation process had been deemed to be normal and expected, it is now emerging that some operators are reluctant to address the bottlenecks expeditiously, going against the spirit of MNP project of giving the customer freedom to own their number and move to the network of their choice within the stipulated terms. "How do you explain several complaints received from customers who have opted to move their number to airtel from Safaricom being unable to receive calls from Safaricom numbers for several days, while they are able to communicate on all platforms on the airtel network with the same number?" posed Mr. Meza. He said contrary to the regulations issued by the Communications Commission of Kenya, some operators, especially Safaricom, were still trying to woo back customers who had already ported out of their network. "It is amazing that after completing the 48 hour porting process, some players had deliberately declined to de-activate the old sim cards from their network. In essence, what this means is that the customer has not completely moved to his network of choice but is still held captive by Safaricom, an act that is anti patriotic and gross abuse of dominance by Safaricom clearly designed to beat efforts of the Government to fully liberalize the sector" he said. Prior to the implementation of MNP, all operators had expressed commitment to ensure the service was implemented smoothly, a move that was seen as another milestone in Kenya's telecommunication sector. Largely seen as the next frontier in the battle for subscribers, the successful implementation of MNP is a test-case for CCK's commitment to overseeing reforms in Kenya's telecommunication sector. Mr. Meza added: "We have referred the matter to CCK since we feel that if the anti-competition tendencies are not weeded out at the onset, customers may not get a chance to enjoy real freedom and benefits of MNP. - END - _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/onamwaya%40hotmail. com <http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/onamwaya@hotmail.c om> 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 http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwangy%40gmail.com <http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwangy@gmail.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 http://mwangy.posterous.com <http://mwangy.posterous.com/> Skype : mark.mwangy
Thanks Chris, But why can't the MSPs exhaust internal conflict resolution mechanisms before going to the public. In legal language, it will be subjudice to recklessly comment, through a public media, on matters before court. Is public exchanges between MSPs a sign of a weak referee (regulatory regime) or a case of earning undue public sympathy? At the end of the day, it is the consumers of their services who are pawns in this "game" of high stakes. By the way, why are consumer representatives not invited to the CCK/MSPs meeting? Regards, Stephen Mutoro COFEK Sent from my BlackBerry® -----Original Message----- From: "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke> Sender: kictanet-bounces+stephen=cofek.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:45:31 To: <stephen@cofek.co.ke> Cc: <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/stephen%40cofek.co.ke The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
Stephen, I will not respond to your first question because MSPs are best suited to address it. On the issue of inviting consumer representatives, yesterday's meeting was specifically called to secure regulatory and contractual obligations of the mobile operators in respect to MNP. It was therefore not open to other stakeholders. As you may be aware, the Commission is always open to receive representations from consumers (or their representatives) or other communities of interest on any regulatory issue that affects them. For instance, during public consultations on MNP, the Commission received important input from consumers (and their representatives) and other stakeholders. We also have in a place a full-fledged Consumer Affairs Division dedicated to dealing with consumer issues. If you have any concerns, please feel free to get in touch with the said Division through chukuahatua@cck.go.ke . If the issue merits the attention of the Director-General, the Head of the Consumer Affairs Division shall escalate it accordingly. -----Original Message----- From: Stephen Mutoro [mailto:stephen@cofek.co.ke] Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 9:03 AM To: Wambua, Christopher; kictanet-bounces+stephen=cofek.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke Cc: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile NumberPortability Thanks Chris, But why can't the MSPs exhaust internal conflict resolution mechanisms before going to the public. In legal language, it will be subjudice to recklessly comment, through a public media, on matters before court. Is public exchanges between MSPs a sign of a weak referee (regulatory regime) or a case of earning undue public sympathy? At the end of the day, it is the consumers of their services who are pawns in this "game" of high stakes. By the way, why are consumer representatives not invited to the CCK/MSPs meeting? Regards, Stephen Mutoro COFEK Sent from my BlackBerry(r) -----Original Message----- From: "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua@cck.go.ke> Sender: kictanet-bounces+stephen=cofek.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:45:31 To: <stephen@cofek.co.ke> Cc: <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/stephen%40cofek.co. ke The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
Thanks Chris for the elaborate response OTSIENO NAMWAYA P.O BOX 7509 - 00200 +254-733-893550 NAIROBI KENYA Subject: RE: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:45:31 +0300 From: Wambua@cck.go.ke To: onamwaya@hotmail.com CC: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke Otsieno, No one in the Commission is sleeping on their job. The Commission received formal complaints in regard to this matter from porting subscribers as well as from a section of the mobile industry. In response, CCK yesterday afternoon convened a meeting of the Legal, Process and Technical Working Groups with a view to resolving the issues in order to ensure that consumers enjoy seamless services as they port their numbers to the networks of their choice. During the meeting, the two operators explained the technical problems that they have been experiencing and committed to remedy them within the shortest time possible. CCK is scheduled to meet with all the CEOs of the four mobile operators today to ensure that the commitments agreed on in respect to MNP are secured at the highest level. The Commission is sparing no effort to ensure that the technical hitches are resolved within the shortest time possible. From: kictanet-bounces+wambua=cck.go.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+wambua=cck.go.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of otsieno namwaya Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2011 6:57 PM To: Wambua, Christopher Cc: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability Mark Mwangi, It is true that Airtel could just be attemtping to manipulate public opinion. It is notable however that Safaricom has not denied the allegations. In fact, reading through what they have posted on their website, they are making counter claims and allegations against their competitor, accusing them of not providing adequate information to subsecribers who want to shift. I read that to mean that Safarisom is attempting a justification of their actions as alleged, especially where they are shy of a point by point rebuttal, at least in the interest of the market and fairness to the consumers. But I would be glad to be corrected on this, and this is only when the CCK and Porting Access Kenya will show some mettle and lend credibility to a process they started. What we must avoid is the temptation to hide behind the unknown to dismiss the known. OTSIENO NAMWAYA P.O BOX 7509 - 00200 +254-733-893550 NAIROBI KENYA From: mwangy@gmail.com Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:58:25 +0300 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability To: onamwaya@hotmail.com CC: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke so why are you assuming that Airtels claims are correct? could be simply manipulation of opinion. does anyone know of someone who has experienced any foul play? On Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 4:47 PM, otsieno namwaya <onamwaya@hotmail.com> wrote: That complaint by Airtel did not come as a surprise to me. For, there had been tale tell signs from the beginning. First, Safarisom had been the least enthusiastic about number portability. This was understable to me, though, because, as the market leader they stood to loose the most. But then I had not anticipated renegade behaviour from Safaricom and, worse still, failure to tame this kind of anti competition behaviour by the Communications Commission of Kenya. There are several things Safaricom is doing: First, they just dont complete the porting process of those who want to move from Safaricom to another provider. Second, where the porting is completed at all, they block the line, so the subscriber finds that he/she cannot be reached. This, in any fair business environment, is unacceptable and it would not have waited until one side cries foul. Someone at CCK is clearly sleeping on the job. OTSIENO NAMWAYA P.O BOX 7509 - 00200 +254-733-893550 NAIROBI KENYA From: stephen@cofek.co.ke Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:08:38 +0300 Subject: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability CC: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke To: onamwaya@hotmail.com Hi. Interesting development this must be. We would be happy to have your views on this article below appearing on “Airtel Kenya” Facebook page (which we are unsure if it is the company’s official page). Kind regards, Stephen Stephen Mutoro Secretary General Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) Natu Court, Block F-45 Ngong Road/Ring Rd Kilimani Junction P.O Box 2733-00200, City Square, NAIROBI, Kenya Tel. 254-20-3861718, 3861719, 2300859 Fax. 254-20-3861719 Cellphones: 0715555550, 0736965590, 0770700007 E-mail: hotline@cofek.co.ke Website: www.cofek.co.ke ************************* Restoring Consumer Pride and Confidence! airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability by Airtel Kenya on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 3:46pm April 12, 2011… The success of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Kenya is at risk with reports indicating that some operators may be employing under hand tactics to sabotage the MNP process, barely a week after its launch. While lauding the Communications Communication of Kenya for making MNP a reality at an event to welcome the very first customers moving to airtel from other networks today, Managing Director Rene Meza raised a red flag saying several anti-competition tactics were being used to block customers seeking to move to its network. He said that whereas initial technical hiccups in the implementation process had been deemed to be normal and expected, it is now emerging that some operators are reluctant to address the bottlenecks expeditiously, going against the spirit of MNP project of giving the customer freedom to own their number and move to the network of their choice within the stipulated terms. “How do you explain several complaints received from customers who have opted to move their number to airtel from Safaricom being unable to receive calls from Safaricom numbers for several days, while they are able to communicate on all platforms on the airtel network with the same number?” posed Mr. Meza. He said contrary to the regulations issued by the Communications Commission of Kenya, some operators, especially Safaricom, were still trying to woo back customers who had already ported out of their network. “It is amazing that after completing the 48 hour porting process, some players had deliberately declined to de-activate the old sim cards from their network. In essence, what this means is that the customer has not completely moved to his network of choice but is still held captive by Safaricom, an act that is anti patriotic and gross abuse of dominance by Safaricom clearly designed to beat efforts of the Government to fully liberalize the sector” he said. Prior to the implementation of MNP, all operators had expressed commitment to ensure the service was implemented smoothly, a move that was seen as another milestone in Kenya’s telecommunication sector. Largely seen as the next frontier in the battle for subscribers, the successful implementation of MNP is a test-case for CCK’s commitment to overseeing reforms in Kenya’s telecommunication sector. Mr. Meza added: “We have referred the matter to CCK since we feel that if the anti-competition tendencies are not weeded out at the onset, customers may not get a chance to enjoy real freedom and benefits of MNP. - END - _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/onamwaya%40hotmail.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 http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at http://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 http://mwangy.posterous.com Skype : mark.mwangy
As far as I understand, this was in response to an earlier Safaricom press release today in which they claim that Airtel do not adequately inform subscribers who want to port about the implications: http://www.ratio-magazine.com/201104123892/Corporate-Press-Releases/Safarico... I have no access to the data on unsuccessfully ported numbers and calls that won't be completed. But the press release had the two porting request forms by Safaricom and Airtel respectively attached as a scan. Safaricom's requires the subscriber to sign that s/he has understood the implications (cleared balances, withdrawn remaining funds from mobile money accounts, deplete airtime, cash in reward points etc). Airtel's form does not include this (unless it's on the back or on a second page that wasn't scanned). Happy to send the attachments round if anyone is interested - just contact me directly. The FAQ are now fairly easy to find on CCK and Airtel and Safcom websites but I still suspect that a lot of people don't entirely understand what's going on. Also interesting: Orange and Yu don't yet feature in this debate. Andrea On 12 April 2011 16:47, otsieno namwaya <onamwaya@hotmail.com> wrote:
That complaint by Airtel did not come as a surprise to me. For, there had been tale tell signs from the beginning. First, Safarisom had been the least enthusiastic about number portability. This was understable to me, though, because, as the market leader they stood to loose the most. But then I had not anticipated renegade behaviour from Safaricom and, worse still, failure to tame this kind of anti competition behaviour by the Communications Commission of Kenya. There are several things Safaricom is doing: First, they just dont complete the porting process of those who want to move from Safaricom to another provider. Second, where the porting is completed at all, they block the line, so the subscriber finds that he/she cannot be reached. This, in any fair business environment, is unacceptable and it would not have waited until one side cries foul. Someone at CCK is clearly sleeping on the job.
OTSIENO NAMWAYA P.O BOX 7509 - 00200 +254-733-893550 NAIROBI KENYA
------------------------------ From: stephen@cofek.co.ke Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:08:38 +0300 Subject: [kictanet] Airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability CC: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke To: onamwaya@hotmail.com
Hi. Interesting development this must be. We would be happy to have your views on this article below appearing on “Airtel Kenya” Facebook page (which we are unsure if it is the company’s official page).
Kind regards,
Stephen
Stephen Mutoro
*Secretary General*
Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK)
Natu Court, Block F-45
Ngong Road/Ring Rd Kilimani Junction
P.O Box 2733-00200, City Square, NAIROBI, Kenya
Tel. 254-20-3861718, 3861719, 2300859
Fax. 254-20-3861719
Cellphones: 0715555550, 0736965590, 0770700007
E-mail: hotline@cofek.co.ke
Website: www.cofek.co.ke**
*************************
*Restoring Consumer Pride and Confidence!* airtel accuses Safaricom of sabotaging Mobile Number Portability
by Airtel Kenya<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Airtel-Kenya/122273904502736>on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 3:46pm April 12, 2011… The success of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Kenya is at risk with reports indicating that some operators may be employing under hand tactics to sabotage the MNP process, barely a week after its launch. While lauding the Communications Communication of Kenya for making MNP a reality at an event to welcome the very first customers moving to airtel from other networks today, Managing Director Rene Meza raised a red flag saying several anti-competition tactics were being used to block customers seeking to move to its network. He said that whereas initial technical hiccups in the implementation process had been deemed to be normal and expected, it is now emerging that some operators are reluctant to address the bottlenecks expeditiously, going against the spirit of MNP project of giving the customer freedom to own their number and move to the network of their choice within the stipulated terms. “How do you explain several complaints received from customers who have opted to move their number to airtel from Safaricom being unable to receive calls from Safaricom numbers for several days, while they are able to communicate on all platforms on the airtel network with the same number?” posed Mr. Meza. He said contrary to the regulations issued by the Communications Commission of Kenya, some operators, especially Safaricom, were still trying to woo back customers who had already ported out of their network. “It is amazing that after completing the 48 hour porting process, some players had deliberately declined to de-activate the old sim cards from their network. In essence, what this means is that the customer has not completely moved to his network of choice but is still held captive by Safaricom, an act that is anti patriotic and gross abuse of dominance by Safaricom clearly designed to beat efforts of the Government to fully liberalize the sector” he said. Prior to the implementation of MNP, all operators had expressed commitment to ensure the service was implemented smoothly, a move that was seen as another milestone in Kenya’s telecommunication sector. Largely seen as the next frontier in the battle for subscribers, the successful implementation of MNP is a test-case for CCK’s commitment to overseeing reforms in Kenya’s telecommunication sector. Mr. Meza added: “We have referred the matter to CCK since we feel that if the anti-competition tendencies are not weeded out at the onset, customers may not get a chance to enjoy real freedom and benefits of MNP. - END -
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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.
-- Andrea Bohnstedt <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt> Publisher +254 720 960 322 www.ratio-magazine.com Find/post East Africa careers<http://www.ratio-magazine.com/careers/index.php> Find/post conferences, workshops, trainings, other business events<http://www.ratio-magazine.com/businessevents/index.php>
On Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 17:07, Andrea Bohnstedt < andrea.bohnstedt@ratio-magazine.com> wrote:
As far as I understand, this was in response to an earlier Safaricom press release today in which they claim that Airtel do not adequately inform subscribers who want to port about the implications:
http://www.ratio-magazine.com/201104123892/Corporate-Press-Releases/Safarico...
I have no access to the data on unsuccessfully ported numbers and calls that won't be completed. But the press release had the two porting request forms by Safaricom and Airtel respectively attached as a scan. Safaricom's requires the subscriber to sign that s/he has understood the implications (cleared balances, withdrawn remaining funds from mobile money accounts, deplete airtime, cash in reward points etc). Airtel's form does not include this (unless it's on the back or on a second page that wasn't scanned). Happy to send the attachments round if anyone is interested - just contact me directly.
The FAQ are now fairly easy to find on CCK and Airtel and Safcom websites but I still suspect that a lot of people don't entirely understand what's going on.
Also interesting: Orange and Yu don't yet feature in this debate.
Orange and Yu are still not among the "major players". They don't have the numbers, the muscle, and (I dare say) the "will" to get there. Just count them out of this war. -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Damn!!
participants (6)
-
Andrea Bohnstedt -
Mark Mwangi -
Odhiambo Washington -
otsieno namwaya -
Stephen Mutoro -
Wambua, Christopher