Telkom Kenya wants to double its market share to 15 percent and is selling its transmission towers in a lease-back deal to fund expansion in data and internet services, Reuters reported, citing CEO Aldo Mareuse. He said the government should declare Safaricom a dominant telecoms operator to ensure the competitors were not pushed out of business. Mareuse said Kenya is the only country in the world which has not declared someone with more than 50 percent revenue share a dominant operator.
The risk is this market becomes a single player market, said Mareuse. Safaricom controls 67 percent of the mobile market, with close to 30 million subscribers. It controls more than 90 percent of revenue in key categories like voice. The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) issued a report in 2016 that included recommending Safaricom give rivals access to its transmission sites and network of mobile money outlets, but this has not been implemented. Mareuse said the CA should ensure Telkom’s mobile money service T-Kash could work with Safaricom’s M-Pesa platform for cash transfers and other transactions.
Telkom, which is 60 percent owned by London-based Helios Investment with the rest held by the government, has an 8.6 percent market share or 3.8 million subscribers, ranking it third behind Safaricom and Airtel Kenya unit. Mareuse said he wanted to achieve 15 percent market share, saying the company was investing KES 5.5 billion a year to expand and improve the quality of its data and internet services, which provide half its revenues.
Telkom is selling its transmission towers to America Tower Corporation and leasing them back to raise funds. Telkom will launch balloon-powered internet with Alphabet’s Loon in 2019.
