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{
    "id": 62426,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/62426/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 222,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "subscribers. This is a 33.4 per cent reduction for prepaid subscribers and 55.5 per cent for the postpaid subscribers. Mr. Speaker, Sir, voice traffic and voice mobile networks increased from 187 million minutes to 405 million minutes. Roaming out voice traffic increased from 19.8 million minutes to 24.3 million minutes, while roaming in voice traffic increased from 4.4 million minutes to 7.4 million minutes. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as I said last week, VAT and Excise Tax collections on airtime have declined with reduced tariffs. However, that is compensated by other macro- economic variables such as enhanced access and affordability of communication services by the poor, reduction in inflation, reduction in the cost of doing business and increased attractiveness. Globally, the industry’s trend shows that calling prices tend to decrease as volume and rate exchange increases. Revenue in the mobile telephony sector tend to decline from voice and increase in data and value addition services as the market matures. Kenya is no exception. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the case of Sri Lanka was raised in the House last week. Sri Lanka is a country with a population of 20 million people and a subscriber base of 16.3 million or a penetration rate of about 81 per cent. Mobile operators in Sri Lanka are five - Mobitel, Electoteks, Airtel Sri Lanka, Hutch and Dialog. In a country where penetration is very high compared to Kenya’s 60 per cent, driving penetration is not one of the regulator’s key focus. In Sri Lanka, there is no paid mobile termination regime where revenues are kept by the originating network. This is called “center keeps it all.” With no mobile termination payments in place, there is no compensation for operators or calls terminated in their networks by others. In light of the above, operators threatened to stop inter-connection and hence, the Sri Lankan regulator intervened and introduced paid mobile termination regime and a floor on retail prices. The scenario is very different in Kenya which has been having a paid interconnection regime for a very long period. Operators get paid for interconnection for all calls terminated on their networks by other operators. Another issue regarding outsourcing of customer care services by Safaricom was raised last week. Safaricom has invested heavily in its own call center with 1,200 employees. Its competitors, on the other hand, have outsourced their customer care services to Kencell, a Kenyan Company; Horizon, a Kenyan Company; and, Spanco, an Indian Company that is setting up a branch in Kenya. It is clear that outsourcing does not necessarily lead to job losses as the call centers are in Kenya and the employees are also Kenyan. Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me now turn to the future of the sector. On 1st April, 2011, mobile number portability will be launched in Kenya. This will allow customers to freely change networks without changing numbers. The taskforce will advise on the reasonable mobile number portability charge as well as the off- air periods to effect such portability. With regard to mobile money transfer services, each operator currently operates his own unique platform with an independent settlement mechanism, all outside the banking system. The taskforce will recommend how mobile banking platforms can be integrated to allow for inter-operator transactions and networking with the banking system. However, this must not undermine the speed and low cost by which consumers are able to liquidate the e-value of their mobile handsets."
}