Kenya’s Ministry of ICT cabinet secretary Dr Fred Matiangi has assured the public the licence renewal of the country’s leading operator Safaricom is on course and will be completed once the company meets certain requirements set by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK).
HumanIPO reported earlier this week the CAK had called for objections to the renewal of Safaricom’s licence, with the operator having applied for a 15-year Network Facilities Provider Tier 1 licence allowing it to offer communication services based on satellite, terrestrial, mobile and fixed infrastructure and the International Gateway Licence, which provides global connectivity.
The renewal of the licence, which expires in June, has been a source of controversy, with regulator figures suggesting Safaricom was missing certain quality of service (QoS) targets, though Safaricom dismissed these claims.
While appearing before the Senate Committee on Information, Matiangi assured Kenyans Safaricom subscribers had nothing to fear and that the renewal would take place once certain conditions had been met.
“Someone has been alarming the public for no reason,” he said.
“The renewal of a license is a process, but not a right. The regulator has requested the service provider to meet some requirements and fulfil certain conditions and everything will be sorted.”
Safaricom chief executive officer (CEO) Bob Collymore told HumanIPO he was confident the licence would be renewed after the CAK gazetted the licence renewal.
