Telecommunication Company Seeks Senate Intervention to Protect Operators from Market Dominance

A telecommunications company has urged the Senate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Committee to intervene and regulate the sector to safeguard other mobile network operators from market domination.

During a private sector engagement retreat in Mombasa on Friday, the regulatory chief of one of Kenya’s leading telecommunications networks made this plea.

“The head of regulatory for a company seeks the Senate ICT Committee’s intervention to regulate the telecommunications sector and protect mobile network operators from market dominance,” noted the Senate committee.

Competition in the Kenyan telecommunications sector has intensified, with two major telcos vying for dominance. New entrants have also emerged in the market, challenging existing internet and communication network providers.

Data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) shows that Kenya’s home internet market was dominated by Safaricom with nearly 37 per cent, followed by Jamii Telecommunication Limited with 23.7 per cent, and Zuku with 19.6 per cent.

According to the latest report from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) in 2018, no telecommunication company was declared dominant in the Kenyan mobile network market.

The authority stated that it would need to hire an international firm to analyse the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors before declaring any company dominant.

The ever-growing use of mobile networks in Kenya poses challenges to dominant communication companies in a competitive market.

The government had planned to integrate the Kenya Revenue Authority System with telecommunication companies in a tax plan. This was one of the reforms the state had vowed to roll out. 

It explained that integrating with external systems would ensure a boost in revenue collection for the government, similar to strategies implemented in the betting industry that have seen KRA collect billions more in taxes from that sector.