BY SAM ALFAN.
Kituo Cha Sheria has moved to court seeking to stop Safaricom and industry regulator from blocking Starlink from entering the Kenyan market by providing satellite internet services.
Kituo Cha Sheria want the court to stop Safaricom PLC and Communication Authority of Kenya from from taking any actions that may be prejudicial to the consumers of SpaceX’s Starlink, including but not limited to; frustrating any payments made to Starlink, its subsidiaries licensees and distributors or any of its affiliated companies.
The lobby group said in the petition to the High Court that the telco and Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) should allow the growth of satellite internet services and claims by Safaricom that direct entry into the market poses a threat to mobile network quality, are unfounded
Justice Lawrence Mugambi directed Safaricom, CA and Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) to file their response within seven days.
“Unless the court grants the orders sought against Safaricom PLC, CA and CAK, the liberties and freedoms of the Kenyan internet consumer are in imminent danger of being contravened, without any form of recourse and it is only this Honourable Court that can offer protection of their Constitutional Rights and Freedoms,” says the lobby group.
It is the argument of the lobby group that Safaricom has engaged in predatory practices in a letter on July 5, 2024 to the regulator, opposing the direct entry of Starlink into the country.
Kituo Cha Sheria further wants the court to direct CAK and CA jointly with any other relevant industry regulators, to carry out a comprehensive scientific inquiry and study, devoid of any undue influence, from any Mobile Network Operators or any other industry players on, on the claims by Safaricom.
“A declaration that Satellite Internet Services should be left to grow pending conclusion of the study by the Communication Authority of Kenya,” seeks the lobby.
In the letter to CA, Safaricom stated that the entry of Starlink will interfere with existing licensed MNO’s spectrum rights as currently awarded.
The telco further said that the socioeconomic damage to be incurred by mobile network operators due to the entry of Starlink will be unquantifiable leaving the country far behind other markets.
The lobby, however, said Safaricom is a commercial entity which in its ordinary operations aims at maximising profit and from time to time has conflicting interests to that of its consumers.
“This court is the guardian of the Constitution and not only has jurisdiction to hear and determine the present Applications and accompanying Petition, but it also has an obligation to respect, uphold and defend the Constitution,” lobby told the court.
Kituo Cha Sheria’s executive director Dr Annette Mbogoh said the internet connectivity fee charged on the consumer by Starlink being so minimal, caused consumers who in a desire fast, reliable and cheap internet access to make purchases and try the Starlink system.
“As a result, many consumers abandoned their ongoing internet service providers in favour of SpaceX’s Starlink system, which they felt was equally secure and cheaper upon them,” she says.
She said the cheapest bundle offered by Starlink of 50 Gigabytes cost Kshs.1,300 was a fraction in comparison with Safaricom- the largest Internet Service Provider in the region of Kshs6,000 for a similar bundle of the same amount.
She said the difference between the two is roughly 78 percent difference in cost with Safaricom’s.
Mbogoh said the entry by Starlink into the market has evidently caused market shocks causing concerns for already established players in the internet service providers industry, who realised that Starlink’s monthly charges while favourable to the consumer were detrimental to their own traditional business models that utilise terrestrial networks.
