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Airtel Africa Refutes Plans to Exit Kenyan Market

Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel Africa has denied reports that it plans to halt operations in Kenya. The rumours were reported by Techweez after Prasanta Das Sarmato, CEO of Airtel Kenya, assessed the viability of the company after The National ICT Policy 2019 was signed. “Equity Participation, a clause in the policy states that only companies with at least 30% substantive Kenyan ownership, either corporate or individual will be licensed to provide ICT services.” The telco, however, has said that it would not be leaving the Kenyan market – “we remain committed to delivering quality and value for money products and services to all our customers whilst ensuring effective, uninterrupted communication is achieved across the entire country.” Airtel goes on to say that it would cont...

Airtel Kenya Makes Network Upgrades to Avoid CA Fines

Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel Kenya has made a number of improvements to its network in order to meet the regulatory minimum threshold on quality of calls across the country. Airtel Managing Director, Prasanta Das Sarma told Business Daily that 270 sites were upgraded from 2G and 3G sites to 4G while more than 400 sites were added in upcountry towns and highways. “In total, the upgrade covered 20 counties. Some more sites will be added by end of April when the work will be done,” says Sarma. “We are vindicated when we see more customers using us. With this kind of expansion, we will be able to satisfy CA criteria (on voice quality).” Airtel Africa – and Telkom – came under fire earlier this year when the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) placed the telco’s under scrutiny after alleged...

5G Rollout in Kenya Escalates as Airtel Upgrades 600 Sites

Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel Kenya has upgraded over 600 sites in Nairobi, Mombasa and Malindi to ensure that they are 5G ready – this comes shortly after rival telco, Safaricom, launched the first 5G commercial services in East Africa. “These 600 sites are now 5G-ready. We don’t have to make any further modifications to the network. We will just get the spectrum and decide when to switch on,” says Prasanta Das Sarma, MD of Airtel Kenya. According to Business Daily, the new 5G network will “give consumers Internet speeds of 700 megabits per second, more than three times faster than the current 4G network, allowing operators to offer an alternative service for homes and offices in areas which are not currently covered by its fibre network”. Sarma also revealed that subscribers can hope to ...

Airtel Africa to Sell $200 Million Stake in Mobile Money Business

Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel Africa is set to sell a minority stake – worth $200 million – in Airtel Mobile Commerce BV (AMC BV) to global investment company, The Rise Fund. “The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including necessary regulatory filings and approvals, as necessary, and the inclusion of specified mobile money business assets and contracts into AMC BV,” reveals the company. According to TechCrunch, this deal values the mobile money business at $2.65 billion with operations across 14 African countries, including Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria. “Our markets afford the substantial market potential for mobile money services to meet the needs of the tens of millions of customers in Africa who have little or no access to banking and financial services, and this dema...

Jambo Pay to Use Virtual Mobile Network in Kenya

Jambo Pay is set to launch a virtual mobile network after obtaining a license from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA). According to Techweez, this will allow it to lease spectrum from mobile network operators and roll out mobile services – intensifying telco competition in an industry dominated by Safaricom. “Yes we have a been granted License for Mobile Virtual Network Operator,” confirms Jambo Pay CEO, Danson Muchemi. “This we intend to utilise to provide additional services to our client base. The services will include IoT (Internet of Things services).” Business Daily revealed that the firm will invest “Sh300 million following the approval and will target mobile payments in sectors like public transport and the energy sector”. Airtel Africa and Telkom Under Investigation by the...

Airtel Africa and Telkom Under Investigation by the Communications Authority of Kenya

Airtel Africa and Telkom have been placed under scrutiny after allegedly violating the quality of services across their networks. According to Gadgets Africa, The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) believes both telcos failed to meet the minimum 80% threshold on quality of calls across 33 counties in 2020. “Telkom Kenya scored an average mark of 73% while Airtel had 52% in the survey conducted last year. Meanwhile, Safaricom dominated with a 92% overall mark in the survey.” In a recent report, the CA says that “as Airtel’s and Telkom’s performance did not meet the set target of 80 percent for voice services they were issued notices of non–compliance that require the firms to improve their quality of services in the country in compliance with the set threshold.” “The Authority is evalua...

Nokia and Airtel Partner to Lay 5G Foundations in Kenya

Sourced from Comms MEA Nokia and Airtel Kenya have joined forces in a three-year deal to modernize Nairobi with high speed 4G and 5G-ready hardware. Deployment, which began in June, will cover hundreds of sites and include upgrading existing 2G, 3G and 4G radio access network (RAN) coverage in urban, semi-urban, highways, tourist spots and central business districts in Nairobi and the rest of Kenya. Nokia’s future-proofed network infrastructure will also offer Airtel Kenya the option to smoothly transition to 5G when necessary. The upgraded network will deliver enhanced connectivity to customers of Airtel Kenya and access to new, high-speed data services. “We are in the midst of rolling out our network to enhance coverage along with modernization of our data network that will help us to de...

Airtel and Ericsson Partner to Modernise Kenya’s 4G Network

Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel has partnered with Ericsson to modernize its 4G network in Kenya. The telco signed a deal in August 2020 to enhance the quality of voice and data – this is expected to be done by leveraging Ericsson’s Radio System and Packet Core solutions. According to TechWeez, this project is also expected to make Kenya ready for 5G deployment. “Robust and secure communications are an essential component of a digital society in Kenya. We are firmly anchored to the strategy of delivering reliable connections across the country and are looking forward to expanding the high-quality mobile broadband services to our subscribers,” says Prasanta Das Sarma, CEO of Airtel Kenya. Fadi Pharaon, President of Ericsson Middle East and Africa, says, “Together with Airtel, we will imp...

Jumia and Airtel Kenya Partner to Enable Mobile Payments

Jumia and Airtel Kenya have partnered to allow consumers to complete their online payment transactions using Airtel Money. “Millions of Kenyans rely on mobile money daily to make fast payments. By expanding our payment options to include Airtel money, it will make it easier for more consumers to incorporate online shopping as part of their daily transactions,” says Nelly Movine, Head of Financial Services at Jumia. The service is expected to further enhance the Jumia contactless-delivery initiative launched in March as a safety measure against COVID-19. Consumers are encouraged to prepay for their purchases to avoid cash exchange or pay with Airtel money upon delivery. “We are delighted to be working with Jumia on this exciting partnership to enhance customer experience on the Jumia platfo...

Telkom Kenya and Airtel Subscribers Fall Over Failed Merger, says CA

Image sourced from Bandwidth Blog Telkom Kenya and Airtel have recorded a 16% fall in mobile Internet subscribers after consumers grew uncertain over a proposed merger of the telcos, according to Gadgets Africa. A report by the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) reveals that there were only 38.85 million Internet subscribers as of March 2020 – this resulted in a decline from 46.46 million in the same period last year. “The merger deal collapsed last month with Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya citing unacceptable conditions placed on the proposed amalgamation besides delays in receiving regulatory approvals,” reports Business Daily. “The companies had entered into an agreement on February 8, 2019 to combine their mobile, enterprise and wholesale divisions, a proposed deal that led to uncert...

Kenyan Telcos could Compensate Users for Network Outages

Safaricom, Telkom and Airtel Kenya have decided to compensate customers who experience interrupted services due to network outages, reports Gadgets Africa. This comes shortly after the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) issued new draft regulations “to compel telcos to either pay or offer credit equivalent of the time users are without voice, data and SMS services”. These guidelines are said to be part of the Kenyan governments “effort to shield the millions of subscribers across the country from poor services related to network outages which include lack of internet connections”. This is something that is expected to push telcos to step-up the quality of their services. CA draft regulations  “A licensee shall develop and implement an outage credit policy in situations where servi...

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