Government to review frequency fees

The Government will review telecommunication frequency fees, a cost mobile phone operators say stifles mobile network expansion.

Dr Bitange Ndemo, permanent secretary ministry of Information and Communications, said on Thursday that the industry regulator, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), will announce the new model for charging frequencies later this month.

“We have been working on a model that will spur growth and encourage investment in the telecoms industry. The model will be released in the next few weeks,” Dr Ndemo, said.

The regulator has been levying operators, based on the number of microwave links, radio transceivers, and radio spectrum the operators have, meaning an operator with more links pays more.

Data shows that market leader, Safaricom, pays Sh2.5 billion annually for its 40,000 communication links, while Telkom Kenya pays about Sh1 billion.

“The industry has been concerned about the high charges. Pricing of spectrum is high, limiting our expansion plans,” said Safaricom chief executive officer, Mr Bob Collymore.

Mr Collymore added that once the issue on spectrum pricing is resolved, the company will rollout a fourth generation network (4G) or LTE. Operators have been pushing for the charges to be based on use rather than numbers.

When contacted, the communications team at CCK was said to be away until Monday.

Spectrum fees is among issues being addressed by a committee on telecoms tariffs at the Prime minister’s office.

The committee, chaired by the ministry of Finance, is looking at the charges and the impact of lower tariffs on the economy, cost of doing business, attractiveness and increased penetration, as well as affordability.

The two were speaking during the launch of Safaricom Academy, which is a partnership with Strathmore University and Vodafone.