Kenya issues licences to three MVNOs

News Wireless Kenya 11 APR 2014
Kenya issues licences to three MVNOs
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) is set to issue MVNO licences to Finserve Africa, a subsidiary of Equity Bank, Mobile Pay, owned by Tangaza Money, and Zioncell Kenya, Business Daily reported. The three operators will be licensed to use existing operators' networks to offer select services. MVNO licences fall under the Application Service Provider (ASP) category, which comes with a fee of KES 100,000 and enables an entity to offer services such as customer registration, SIM card issuance, billing and customer care to end users without holding a spectrum licence. 

MobilePay runs the 'Tangaza Pesa' money transfer applications, started three years ago. Tangaza Pesa was earlier licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya and CCK to operate as a Money Transfer and E-Payments System. Zioncell Kenya is an affiliate of Mobile Decisioning (MODE), a technology company that provides value-added services to mobile network operators in emerging nations. It has live operations in 13 countries in Africa.   

Orange Kenya's CEO Mikhael Ghossein said his company will not allow the MVNOs on its network to offer voice or data services because this would compromise the quality of services to its own customers. Ghossein asked the CAK to convene a stakeholders' meeting before licensing the MVNOsm Business Day reported. CAK director-general Francis Wangusi, however, said all three applicants had sought to use Airtel's Network and that Orange had nothing to worry about. The regulator had last month demanded that Safaricom accept hosting the MVNOs as part of the conditions for the planned acquisition of Yu's assets.

















 

Categories:

Mobile

Companies:

Orange Kenya,  Safaricom,  Yu,  Airtel,  Zioncell,  Finserve Africa,  Mobile Pay

Countries:

Kenya

Tags:

Government telecommunications licensing, Network Access, Wholesale

Related Articles

KENYA 10 FEB 2015

Former Safaricom, InMobi execs join Finserve board

Equity Group has named two new board members at its telecommunications subsidiary Finserve Africa. They are former Safaricom chief technical officer John Barorot and former InMobi Africa MD Isis Nyong'o. The group has reorganised its boardroom following the formation of a non-trading holding company on 31 December 2014.

KENYA 27 AUG 2014

CA sets conditions for additional spectrum for Safaricom

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) said Safaricom will have to fulfill several conditions before it is issued with additional frequencies. This is to ensure that the company does not abuse its market dominance. The industry regulator said Safaricom will have to share its infrastructure with other networks, particularly in under-served areas, before its spectrum is expanded. CAK Director General Francis Wangusi told The Standard that Safaricom had applied for additional spectrum but the regular will

KENYA 7 AUG 2014

Kenya Airways, Airtel sign MVNO agreement

Airtel Kenya and Kenya Airways have signed an agreement in which the operator will host the airline as a MVNO on its network. Under the MoU, Airtel will deliver an MVNO service for the airline, subject to regulatory approvals. Kenya Airways MVNO will provide mobile services including customer registration, SIM card issuance, billing and customer care to end-users, without holding a spectrum licence. Further details on the official launch and related details will be announced at a later stage once the neces

KENYA 3 JUL 2014

Kenyan watchdog to seek expert advice on embedded SIM cards

Kenya's Communications Authority (CA) says it will seek expert advice from manufacturers of SIM cards after mobile operator Safaricom challenged Equity Bank's intention to use embedded cards to roll out its own mobile banking and cash transfer service, reports Business Daily. CA director-general Francis Wangusi said the regulator will seek to establish whether use of the ultra-slim phone cards, which ride on primary SIM cards, poses potential security threats. Wangusi said the CA also plans to meet with Saf

KENYA 25 JUN 2014

Kenya to enforce mobile infrastructure sharing

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) is set to enforce infrastructure sharing among mobile operators by September. CA Director General Francis Wangusi said the regulator has already laid out guidelines that will compel all mobile service providers with excess capacity to share the infrastructure on a commercial basis with other players. The Authority plans to penalise those who fail to comply. Wangusi said this aims to lower investments costs in the sector. He said that the regulations will be ready b

KENYA 12 JUN 2014

Cofek seeks to scrap Equity MVNO licence over m-money fears

The Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) is seeking orders to cancel the MVNO licence granted to Equity Bank through its subsidiary for mobile services, Finserve Africa. According to the Daily Nation, Cofek lawyer Henry Kurauka argued that the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) did not follow the right procedure in issuing the permit to Finserve Africa and two other firms, Zioncell Kenya and Mobile Pay.

KENYA 29 MEI 2014

Equity Bank to offer Sim Skin with NFC for MVNO

Equity Bank has announced its customers will get special SIM cards to access the lender's MVNO without parting ways with their existing telecoms operators. Equity, which got a MVNO licence in April, plans to issue consumers with ultra-slim SIM cards that can sit on the back of normal SIM cards, saving users the trouble of migrating or carrying two phones. Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi told Business Daily that users who want to stick with their current mobile lines and at the same time enjoy Equity's banking

KENYA 27 MEI 2014

Ex-CCK DG to chair Equity Bank mobile arm

Equity Bank has appointed former Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) director-general John Waweru to chair Finserve, its subsidiary for mobile phone-based banking and voice services. Waweru, who holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from University of Nairobi, will head the Finserve board, the Business Daily reported. Equity Bank Group CEO James Mwangi said Waweru will work with the bank's team that put its MVNO infrastructure in place. It was during his tenure at CAK that the unified li

KENYA 26 MEI 2014

Equity Bank to rollout MVNO service in July

Kenya's Equity Bank will launch a MVNO service in July, Capital FM Kenya reported. Bank CEO James Mwangi told an investor briefing that the bank has partnered with Airtel to roll out the MVNO service. The bank also operates in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan. Mwangi said the MVNO services will run on the excess capacity of Airtel's network, ensuring a seamless quality experience for consumers. The CEO clarified that the bank will not replicate mobile payment services run by telecom operato

KENYA 16 MEI 2014

Tespok criticises CCK for issuing MVNO licences

Kenyan telecommunication companies have questioned the recent issuance of additional mobile licences, saying the benefits to the industry are unknown, the Daily Nation reported. Telecommunication Service Providers Association of Kenya (Tespok) chairman Kris Senanu said it was not clear whether the entry of the three companies will promote competition in an industry that has proven tough to crack.The Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) has issued MVNO licences to three companies, including Equity Bank s

KENYA 23 APR 2014

Equity Bank to hand out phones to boost NFC payment uptake

Kenya's Equity Bank, which has won an MVNO licence, is to issue 300,000 smartphones to retailers in May to facilitate cashless transactions and spread the use of its new ATM cards that allow tap-and-go payments, the Standard reported. Equity will distribute the NFC-enabled phones free of charge to supermarkets, restaurants, kiosks and barbershops as it seeks to boost income from payments processing.

KENYA 17 APR 2014

Kenyan internet subscribers grow to 13.1 mln in Q2

Kenya had 13.1 million internet subscribers in the quarter to December 2013, up from 11.9 million in the previous one. According to the second quarterly sector statistics report for the year 2013-14 from the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK), the growth was driven by the numerous promotions and special offers run by mobile operators. Mobile subscribers account for 99 percent of total subscriptions. The number of estimated internet users increased by 11.0 percent during the quarter to 21.2 million from

KENYA 14 APR 2014

Orange Kenya protests new mobile licences

Orange Kenya has written to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) seeking to know why the agency licensed three MVNOs in the absence of contractual guidelines. Orange said the licensees pose unfair competition to operators, the Business Daily reported. Orange Kenya CEO Mickael Ghossein said that lack of rules of engagement and parameters on how the four mobile operators should face the new business has made it difficult to strike deals with the parties that have approached them. Ghossein said the vacu

Just In

04:59

PLDT Home adopts Amdocs' Store Genie AI customer services platform

04:03

OTE raises EUR 100 million in bond issue subscribed by Deutsche Telekom

25 JUN 14:59

Irish regulator awards Trusted Flagger status to three groups

25 JUN 14:46

Alaska Communications appoints new CEO, President

Commentary

23 JUN 09:56

ACM blocks Delta/Glaspoort deal - what can KPN do?

5 MEI 10:55

KPN: the art of making one-offs structural

4 MEI 14:25

Open Dutch Fiber outlook: time to restart roll-out?

20 APR 10:36

Netflix back to organic growth and doing just fine

Background

21 JUN 22:52

The week in telecom: sovereignty debate comes to VivaTech, Ericsson succession and Fox buys Roku

1 JUN 00:13

The week in telecom: EU telcos push sovereign services as governments question foreign tech investors

23 MEI 23:42

The week in telecom: Starlink ready to go public, Singapore telco M&A and Google courts AI subscribers at I/O

18 MEI 00:31

The week in telecom: US operators mount rural satellite challenge, Cisco cashes in on AI boom

Complete profile

Before downloading the whitepaper, we would like to ask you to complete your profile with company and position. After confirming you will receive the white paper.