Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday, CCK Director General Francis Wangusi said talks were ongoing between the two parties on the new terms to determine the license renewal/FILE
Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday, CCK Director General Francis Wangusi said talks were ongoing between the two parties on the new terms to determine the license renewal.
Wangusi said the commission plans to run fresh checks on Safaricom and not solely on the recent Quality of Service report.
“The negotiation between CCK and Safaricom over the renewal of their license is underway. And I should be quick to inform you that there is really no tension between Safaricom and us,” Wangusi clarified.
Safaricom had aired its displeasure on the Sh2.36 billion fee required for the renewal of the license by CCK, among other rules.
“We have however not relegated on the conditions that we gave Safaricom last year in view of renewal of their license. All we are trying to do is seeing how far; what is feasible and what is not feasible,” Wangusi added.
CCK had earlier last year warned the operator that its license may be revoked if it never met all the quality of service standards.
According to the latest Quality of Service Report 2012-2013 by CCK, Safaricom, Airtel and Essar Telecom tied at 50 percent, behind Telkom Kenya which scored highest at 62.5 percent.
This was against the 80 percent threshold required by the regulator.
Wangusi said that the operator had made progress since the survey ended, hence the need for another check.
Wangusi spoke to journalists after a meeting with all mobile operator heads and ICT Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i which focused on various issues affecting the sector.
One of the concerns raised by the operators was about the methodology and parameters for measurements of the Quality of Service used by CCK.
“The authority is in the process of outsourcing the quality of service measurement in order to infuse efficiency. They expressed their willingness to collaborate with each other and the regulator to address issues that were injurious to the growth and prosperity of the sector,” CCK boss assured.
He however maintained that operators will still face penalties according to the law.
