Nairobi, December 23, 2021: Technology solutions: Voice, Data, and Financial services, are now emerging as a daily necessity. With the pandemic, these services are what have kept the global engine moving with a heavier reliance on remote work, online communications, entertainment, as well as virtual transactions.
Telkom welcomes the Communications Authority’s review of the Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs) and Fixed Termination Rates (FTRs) from KSh. 0.99 to KSh. 0.12. This review is quite timely and is a progressive step towards making voice services more affordable and accessible to Kenyans.
Globally, big and dominant players or incumbents in mobile telephony markets have had a pricing advantage due to the imbalance of connecting traffic between themselves and other network operators. Higher MTRs and FTRs also have the potential to negatively impact the consumer if these larger operators are to price discriminate between on-net and off-net calls. This could lead to the creation of a “club effect” where customers of the larger operators are offered attractive price incentives (that are not affected by the MTRs and FTRs) to stay on the network. Consequently, “new” customers could also feel compelled to join the larger operator’s network, which has a higher number of subscribers, to keep their voice call costs low, due to lower on-net rates compared to the high off-net pricing were they to join an alternative network. This would in the end stifle competition and deny customers of choice.
Today’s customer demands more competitive and comprehensive products that address their different and ever-changing needs. At Telkom, we hold firm the conviction that access to Mobile Voice and Data services is a fundamental human right. We continue to develop new and competitively priced products and solutions such as Madaraka Life in response to these customer dynamics and we are putting in even more investment into our digital financial service T-kash and our network infrastructure, consequently enabling more people to access technology services.
The affordability of handsets, however, which allow the consumer to access these mobile services, remains a challenge to getting more Kenyans connected. There is still need for further intervention from all concerned regulators with the support of other sector stakeholders, to expedite the implementation of policy frameworks to lower this barrier.
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ABOUT TELKOM:
Telkom is a technology company that provides integrated solutions to individuals, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Government and large corporates in Kenya, drawing from a diverse solutions suite that includes voice, data/connectivity, digital financial services, as well as network services. Powered by its vast fibre optic infrastructure, it is also a major provider of wholesale carrier-to-carrier traffic, within the country and the region.
These services are primarily offered through our Service Delivery Units: Digital (that offers: Data Centre Services, Cloud, Managed Services, Connectivity, Broadband, Carrier-to-Carrier traffic, and Backbone Infrastructure); Consumer (that offers: Data, Voice, VAS, and Content) and Digital Financial Services (through our platform T-kash).
Telkom is also building on strong, consumer-centric ethos and is committed to providing innovative, accessible and refreshingly simple communications solutions that suit customers’ everyday communication needs.
Established as a telecommunications operator in April 1999, Telkom is 60 per cent owned by Helios Investment Partners, with the remaining stake held by Kenyans through the Government of Kenya. Telkom has 4,152 km of its own terrestrial fibre cabling, serving as a key conduit for broadband connectivity, inland. Telkom Kenya also owns a 22.5% stake in TEAMS, a 5,000km undersea fibre optic cable through Fujairah, UAE, and a 10% stake in LION2, another 2,700km undersea fibre optic cable through Mauritius. It also owns a stake in the East African Submarine System Cable (EASSy) and manages the National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI), on behalf of the Ministry of ICT, an inland fibre optic cable network running through Kenyan counties. Telkom is also the landing partner for the LION2, EASSy, DARE 1 and lately, the PEACE Cables.
Please visit www.telkom.co.ke to get to know more about Telkom.