BY SAM ALAN.
The Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) has today allayed fears that there is plan to split the some telecommunication market players or take drastic actions that may destabilize dominant market players.
The Authority said that its intention is not to punish success but enhance competition so as to foster growth of the telecommunication subsector and prevent any potential abuse of dominance.
Speaking today at CA center, CA Chairman Board of Directors Ngene Gituku said that the Authority had contracted M/S Analysis Mason of the UK to undertake the telecommunication market study with a view to establish the degree of competition and its effectiveness in the various telecommunication market which they undertook in close consultations with the industry and Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK).
Gituku said that the report of the analysis which the firm submitted to the Authority on February 2017 was further shared with the CAK as part of the consultation envisage in the ICT sector law. The CAK had then reverted with comments which CA is currently reviewing.
“Once the ongoing review is completed, the Authority shall subject the report to a process of stakeholder consultation. The Authority shall then engage industry players and other interested parties for further comments and input in line with the constitutional requirements. The Authority is targeting to finalize and release final report in May 2017,” added Gituku.
CA Director General Francis Wangusi insisted that the Authority will only provide special intervention in terms of price, providing of certain services, quality of services provided and any abuse or potential abuse of dominance.
He said that the Authority is not planning to split any company but provide moderation and prevent small markets from being stumbled by big markets.
He assured the telecommunication industry and other stakeholders that CA is committed to fostering competition and innovations in the ICT sector in order to spur emergence of new services to support the demands of a modern economy.
