Safaricom seeks additional spectrum to raise network quality

BY PATRICK GITHINJI

Safaricom wants additional network spectrum to solve the current network quality complaints, the firm Chief Executive Bob Collymore told journalists Monday.

"We are negotiating with the regulator to increase the spectrum. It is clear we need more spectrum," Collymore said although he didn’t quantify how much the additional spectrum would cost, and the volume of spectrum they needed.

Collymore said it is not best practice to be denied the additional spectrum, considering voice traffic has doubled in the last few years.

He also pointed out that voice traffic in Nairobi Central Business District is higher than in cities such as London and Mumbai.

Currently, all the four operators have equal network spectrum.

At the same time, Collymore revealed that the telecom operators are reviewing the SMS charges.

"Discussions are going on between the regulator and the operators to change the SMS prices to other network."

Safaricom has been charging a uniform rate of Sh3.50 for SMS, while Zain Kenya, Essar, and Telkom Kenya are charging between one and two shillings respectively for SMS on their networks.

Two months ago, the company unveiled an SMS promotion dubbed ‘Masaa ya SMS’, which was seen as a strategy to beat the November deadline set by the Communication Commission of Kenya for the reduction of SMS charges, from current rates, to less than one shilling.

According to the Director General of the CCK, Charles Njoroge, there were glaring distortions in the pricing of SMS services in the country.

"CCK considers the wholesale termination rate of two shillings per SMS negotiated by the operators extremely high. All operators must renegotiate lower mobile and fixed SMS termination rates, and file the new rates with the Commission within three months," said Njoroge.