The consortium or public private partnership (PPP) model is the most ideal for the deployment of 4G or Long-Term Evolution (LTE) infrastructure in Kenya according to MTN Business Kenya managing director Tom Omariba.

Omariba said that the 9-member consortium set up to drive the deployment of the country’s LTE network is the best way to go as it would lead to the provision of enhanced and more efficient ICT services in the country.

“We started from 2G, then moved to 3G and are now set to deploy the 4G or LTE network. The LTE infrastructure has several benefits the main ones being that it would enable users to do more in terms of data speeds and volumes that can be transferred as well as the fact that there is no need for many base transmission stations (BTS),” said Omariba.

Speaking during a panel discussion on digital ecosystem evolution at the 9th East Africa Com conference held at Nairobi’s Safari Park Hotel on Tuesday May 21 – 22, the MTN Business Kenya boss added that deployment of LTE in the country would eventually result in data costs decreasing significantly.

“The costs of maintenance of the network will eventually come down as one BTS can cover longer comparatively longer distances, meaning that with LTE, coverage is more for the same amount of initial capital expenditure or CaPEx,” said Omariba.

The 9-member LTE consortium – which includes the Kenya government (through Treasury) as well as Safaricom, Telkom Kenya-Orange, Airtel, Essar Telecom’s yuKenya, KDN, MTN, Alcatel-Lucent and Epesi Communications – was set up to implement the initial phase of the project at cost of Kshs 8.4 billion.

The mobile network operators in the consortium – Safaricom, Telkom Kenya, Airtel and yuKenya – are expected to provide their masts and BTS under a shared-infrastructure model while the equipment makers reach a formula on how to roll out the network.

“The Kenya LTE consortium has to cover 98 per cent of the country and will upon deployment have far reaching benefits to both the government and private sector as it would boost provision of various crucial services – including e-Government; e-Health and e-Learning among others. Imagine having the same kind of connectivity in all parts of the country,” stated Omariba.

However, no much activity has been achieved since the consortium was put together with a member of the consortium – Safaricom – expressing willingness to deploy its own LTE network. Ericsson has also reportedly proposed to build a country-wide 4G network for free and recover the costs after a 15-year period, a move that would automatically scuttle the 9-member consortium.

“The private sector is selfish that’s why we’ve delayed the roll-out of the LTE/4G network in the country. There’s been no much progress made by the consortium since they were set up apart from lots of stakeholder meetings and discussions with various teams including legal, financial and taxation,” said Omariba, adding that the consortium was meant to work in the same way as the TEAMS cable model.

Industry statistics indicate that by 2020, it is projected that the ICT industry will have moved to 5G technology, with much of the data traffic expected to come from smart devices like home appliances rather than phones and tablets.

Already, several African countries have LTE/4G networks among these being South Africa, Tanzania, Angola and Rwanda.

As part of their commemoration of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) MultiChoice Africa and Eutelsat Communications have announced the return of the DStv Eutelsat Star Awards for 2013.  The awards inspire innovative thinking among secondary and high school students in Africa, to create awareness on how science and technology can be applied to everyday life, and to showcase the many ways that satellites already impact on the development of the African continent.

The 2013 awards are aligned with the objective of WTISD, namely to raise awareness of the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and in particular satellites, on society.

“The new edition of the Star Awards challenge high school student from over 42 African countries to propose how they would use the satellites in space to address three community, country or African continental priorities” says Nico Meyer, Chief Executive of MultiChoice Africa.

The annual awards, which grew from 800 entries in 2011 to over 1000 last year take the form of a competition open to 14-19 year-old students to write an essay or design a poster on the specified topic. Country winners, besides winning exciting country prizes, will go on to compete against each other for the overall continental awards.  Like their 2011 and 2012 counterparts, this year’s overall essay and poster winners will win a once in a lifetime trip for two to the Eutelsat facilities in Paris, with the essay winner traveling onwards to witness a live rocket launch.  Runners up will win a trip to South Africa as guests of MultiChoice Africa. Schools attended by the overall winners will also receive a DStv installation, including dish, television, state-of-the-art PVR decoder and free access to the DStv Education Bouquet.

The 2012 best essay winner, Oyom Anthony from Uganda, won a trip to Paris and French Guiana.

Students can enter the awards by collecting an entry form and other resources from their nearest MultiChoice office or download a copy at www.dstvstarawards.com. Entries for the awards close on 19 September 2013.

Airtel Kenya has announced the introduction of a new range of daily bundles starting today. The bundles dubbed Airtel Tosha seeks to enable customers to get much more on voice calls, SMS and data at low daily subscription rates designed to fit their unique individual needs.

Knowing that customers have different communication needs that may vary by the day, Airtel Tosha offers them the freedom to choose their own tailor-made bundle to maximize on their communication plans.

Airtel Tosha bundles will ensure that its prepaid customers in Kenya get more value while spending less on voice calls, SMS and Data depending on their needs during the 18 hour daily availability of the product.

Customers may subscribe to the Airtel Tosha bundles by simply dialing *767# from their Airtel phones and choosing their preferred bundle.

Safaricom is reacting to our expose yesterday. The company has now sent out an email to all Call Centre Staff to go and pick new headsets and replace the cheap ones.

Such changes are what we would love to see. Kudos to Safaricom for responding to these needs. We just hope that they will properly reward the staff members impaired by the cheap headsets.

A lady by the name of Diana who is the Call Centre Transport Manager sent out this email

India’s Bharti Airtel is set to Warid Telecom Uganda after entering an agreement with Warid Group. After this acquisition, Airtel Uganda will strengthen its position as the second largest mobile operators in  Uganda with around 7.5 million subscribers and 40% market share after MTN. The agreement is subject to approvals from relevant state authorities.

Bharti Airtel Uganda has around 4.6 million subscribers while Warid Telecom has 2.9 million.

Regarding the agreement, Manoj Kohli, MD and CEO (International), Bharti Airtel said, “This happens to be the first in-market acquisition in Bharti Airtel’s history. We believe this market consolidation offers great synergies by bringing together the best of Airtel and Warid to better serve customers in Uganda.”

Bharti Airtel with over 62 million subscribers in Africa, has footprints in 17 countries in the continent.

General Electric Company and Safaricom have signed a KES 100 million deal that will see GE supplying Safaricom with 48 GE Durathon batteries which will capacitate the Safaricom network to run efficiently during power outages.

Durathon Battery technology is one of the first batteries in the world to be designed specifically for Charge Discharge Cycling (CDC) telecom applications. By using batteries as the primary energy source in a continuous charge-discharge-cycling (CDC) operating mode, fuel costs and emissions can be substantially reduced and overall system efficiency dramatically improved.

LEST YOU FORGET: Another Chilling Letter From a Safaricom Call Centre Staff

The Batteries are ideal for back-up applications in urban centres where space is at a premium. They are designed to run at 48V and constructed from abundantly available materials, individual Durathon Battery modules are inherently less attractive to thieves looking to run consumer electronics or recoup material reclamation.

Telecom operators in Africa are starting to power cell phone towers with next-generation batteries. The low-maintenance batteries last twice as long as ordinary lead-acid batteries and can work for 20 years. They are also non-toxic and fully recyclable.

After blogging about the Safaricom call-centre staff retired and sacked because they developed ENT problems, I got more from some current employees at Safaricom. I received over 13 emails with all manner of complaints. The one which stood out is this one.

Hi Robert,

I joined Safaricom in 2009 as customer care representative. We had been promised confirmation once we are through with 3 months probation which was later pushed to six and before we knew it we were given the bad news. We will be signing contracts every six months which is performance based. We later found out the idea of not to confirm us was a cost cutting strategy as you will find out later.

Employment in Kenya is hard to come by so we decided to just accept the conditions. I want us to compare a permanent agent and contract one. Permanent agents earns a basic salary of between Ksh 55,000 and Ksh 60,000. We, the contract ones get 40,200. We are given Ksh 1,000 airtime while permanent get Ksh 3,000 every month. The medical cover we have as contract is Ksh 60,000 and in patient is Ksh 150,0000 per year which does not cover any member of our family while the permanent staff is Ksh 250,000 for out-patient and in-patient is 1.5 million. This basically means if I get sick it’s ok I go to Nairobi hospital but if its my kid I take him to a city council hospital. No dental or optical for contract staff. And we are all agents doing the same job.

As contract staff, you cannot move to any other department regardless of how qualified you are. That basically means you stagnate there answering calls for ever. In the call center, people do swap shifts but as a contract staff you cannot swap with a permanent staff. Why? Mind you we are doing the same job. They refused to have contacts staff join the pension scheme. So they waste you for 2 or 3 years, then they dismiss you with nothing. Remember your contact is 6 months making it very hard to even access loans. Basically contract staff are treated like shit because getting rid of them is like a finger snap. Basically contract staff live like paupers working for blue chip company.

Now, that aside they have now started another very bad and immoral practice. They know it’s illegal to employee someone on renewable contract basis for more than one year. So they are now targeting older contract staff. One minor mistake and your contact is revoked. You can imagine being on contacts since 2009 and in 2013 you are dismissed just like that. You have basically wasted your 4-years.

What do you think Alai. Is this proper?

I must say that Safaricom is really doing lots of things wrong. The sad fact is that the CEO and top directors would rather appear in music videos and pop champagne. Nobody want to face the reality and help these young people.

yuMobile, through its mobile money service, yuCash has today unveiled an exciting offer to all subscribers.

In the promotion, any subscriber who tops up airtime via yuCash will earn 200% bonus airtime, which they can use for yu to yu calls, SMS and for data browsing.

The offer is valid from 18th April for 90 days and is applicable for yuCash airtime top-ups made from Kes.20 up to Kes.250. Subscriber can check the amount of bonus and the validity, simply by *159#.

A group of 20 former and current Safaricom customer care agents, some “retired” because they could not use headsets anymore, are now taking legal action against Safaricom. The agents who have sought redress from almost every institution and have been blocked by Safaricom killing their story through intimidation, arm-twisting and bribery. The list of those they have told their story to reads like a who-is-who in the Kenyan media.

Safaricom has relied on cheap headsets at its Customer Care facility located along Mombasa road. Now most of current and former call-centre staff are suffering from Acoustic Shock syndrome. This is a medical disorder experienced by people exposed to unbalanced sound which becomes traumatic. Read about the disorder here.

What is scary is that Safaricom chose to retire them due to the illness caused by working at Safaricom and they were given a very unfair retirement package of 2 months salary for every year worked and no medical cover. You would expect Safaricom to at least provide life cover to such persons since working at Safaricom impaired them in one way or the other. The above illness is just one of the many medical complications being experienced by Safaricom call-centre staff. Most are Ear Nose and Throat related ailments.

Listen to this recording from one of the staff hearing sessions

According to the doctors’ reports, most the call centre staff were to be re-deployed away from receiving calls but the company instead chose to retire them in October 2012 without compensation. Safaricom arrogantly claims that they are not the cause of the former staff’s condition and yet their doctors (approved by the company) did indicate that the medical complications experienced by the former staff was as a result of prolonged use of the cheap headsets.

Safaricom then bribed some Ministry of Labour officials and then recommended that the staff go to the ministry for assessment before retirement. I have communications and medical reports of around 17 former and current Safaricom customer care officials who feel used and abused by the most profitable company in East and Central Africa. Some who are still working at Safaricom fear for their jobs since Safaricom does not tolerate them communicating even with lawyers.

Safaricom again totally avoided written communication with the aggrieved staff so that they could not be held responsible.

Safaricom’s Director of Resources wrote this letter to one of the employees

From: Joseph Ogutu
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 5:25 PM
To: Medical Incapacity
Subject: RE-DEPLOYMENT PROCEDURE

Dear All,

I refer to the meeting held with the CEO and myself to address the concerns you were having regarding the newly implemented Re-deployment Procedure.

As you are aware, the purpose of the Re-deployment Procedure is to set the company standard to address matters of occupational illness and occupational injury. As agreed at the meeting, I wish to confirm that the company will offer you, over and above any statutory payment stipulated in your employment contract, the following one time ex-gratia package in special consideration and goodwill;

i. Two months’ salary for every year worked or 6 months’ salary whichever is higher

ii. Medical cover up to 31st December 2012
Additionally, following your request to review the start date of the re-deployment period from 17th May 2012 to 1st June 2012, I wish to confirm the request as granted. To this end, the Re-deployment period will be in force until 31st August 2012.

I urge you to continue visiting the intranet for any job vacancies arising and which you may be interested making applications for. Selection and placement will follow the normal recruitment process as stipulated in the Recruitment Policy.

Please note that Individual letters will be issued to you and a copy retained in your personal file.

Regards,
Joseph Ogutu
Director Resources

Calls and SMS to Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore, have not been answered. We hope that the company will come out and address the problems. Declaring billions in profits while they continue to destroy lives is just not right.

Vodacom South Africa has announced an inspiring promotion where its clients with hearing impairement will now receive double the value on every SMS bundle purchased. This is because such subribers rely so much on SMS as a means of communication. This is such a wise move.

Vodacom’s SMS bundle pricing is as follows:

*Hearing impaired customers who register and are approved will qualify for this service.

To qualify for the free bundle, hearing impaired customers should download and complete the application form from one the following websites:

-       Vodacom -  http://www.vodacom.co.za/personal/main/specificneeds/hearingimpaired;

-       National Institute for the Deaf - http://www.deafnet.co.za/headoffice/who.html or

-       Deafsa -  http://www.deafsa.co.za

-       Customers can also send an SMS to 12580 and include their fax number or e-mail address where the application form can be forwarded to.

Completed forms should be e-mailed to 12580@vodacom.co.za. Customer can also complete and submit their forms at Vodacom participating stores. A full list of stores can be viewed on http://www.vodacom.co.za/personal/main/storelocatormap

For more information customers can send an e-mail to 12580@vodacom.co.za or send an SMS to 12580. Customers can also contact the Specific Needs Contact Centre at 12580 free from a Vodacom cellphone or 082 12580 from any other phone.

Telecommunications services provider, Orange, has reduced the prices of various voice and data devices available at its shops. With this offer, Orange Kenya customers can now purchase the entry level and high end mobile phones, data devices and desk phones at reduced costs from Orange shops and partner outlets countrywide.

The price change affects a host of essential devices including: the Smartax MT880 ADSL modem from KSh 8,500 to KSh 2,999; the SunTab tablet at KSh 19,999 down from KSh 23,999, pre-loaded with an Orange SIM card as well as one-month unlimited internet on mobile; the Samsung Galaxy S Duos at KSh 21,499 from KSh 22,999; Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini i8190 at KSh 27,999 from KSh 29,999 and the Nokia 305 whose price has been reduced to KSh 6,899 from KSh 7,299.

These changes translate to a reduction of between 5% and 65% in price.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched Open Data Platforms (www.afdb.org/statistics) for 20 African countries as part of AfDB’s recently launched “Africa Information Highway” initiative. Some of the countries covered in the launch are Algeria, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Republic of Congo, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Pan-African development bank is accelerating the work on the open data platform to complete platforms for the rest of African countries by July 2013.

The Open Data Platform is a user-friendly tool for extracting data, creating and sharing own customized reports, and visualizing data across themes, sectors and countries in tables, charts and maps. Through the Open Data Platform, users can access a wide range of development data on African countries from multiple international and national official sources.

The Open Data Platform initiative is a project the bank aims at significantly increasing access to quality data necessary for managing and monitoring development results in African countries, including the MDGs.

Once implemented, the Open Data Platform will be used by African countries for all data submission flows to the AfDB and possibly other international development partners, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), EU Commission, World Health Organization (WHO), UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), African Union Commission (AUC) and UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

CORD leader and a presidential contender in the disputed March election Raila Odinga has raised pertinent questions regarding the installation and management of IEBC servers. According to a sworn affidavit filed before the Supreme Court of Kenya on Saturday, Raila questioned why IEBC had an KENCALL (call centre company) co-host IEBC’s server and that of The National Alliance (TNA) ( a political party of one of the candidates declared President-elect).

UPDATE: According to a source at IEBC, the electoral body hosted TNA and IEBC’s data on “the same server” mirroring IEBC data on to TNA’s website.

Coincidentally, Kencall founder and owner, Nicholas Nesbitt, sits on the board of Commercial Bank of Africa (majorly owned by the Kenyatta family).  Safaricom, with major business interests with the Kenyatta family through CBA, provided the VPN which sources at IEBC revealed as hacked during the tallying. M-Pesa and M-Shwari mobile money and banking deposits  are all exclusively resident at the Kenyatta owned CBA.

Raila argues that co-hosting the two servers may “compromise the integrity of the electoral process but at the very least gives the very real impression that the TNA has access to all sorts of information which is at the very least initially confidential to the First Respondent ( IEBC).”

According to an article on The Standard on Sunday, Raila believes the IEBC, as well as its Chairman Issack Hassan, failed to establish systems, which are accurate, secure, verifiable, accountable and/or transparent.

The article further states – Raila says that IEBC declared results, “which in many instances had no relation to votes cast at the polling station and developed methods, which were opaque and intended to manipulate the results in the course of which the petitioners’ representatives were altogether excluded from the process.”

IEBC chairman admitted during the tallying at Bomas that the electoral body’s tallying app was hacked and a rogue code, which multiplied votes by 8, added into the application.

Orange is following in the footsteps of yuMobile which launched the Pay4me service in January 2012. The mobile network operator has now launched ‘NiSort’ service which enables subscribers to reverse call charges to the person they expect to communicate with. This service is available on Orange to Orange calls.

According to Orange’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Maureen Sande, “‘NiSort’, will enable customers make calls when the calling party’s credit balance is zero. The service will request the call recipient to accept the charges, before completing the call.”

Orange targets subsribers who need to make urgent calls but are not near a credit recharge facility or have not money to buy the credit.

Reverse charge calls were very famous during the old days when landlines (fixed line network) were the main means of voice communication.

To access NiSort, an Orange subscriber will simply dial 128 followed by the intended recipient’s mobile number. To follow a voice prompt, a subscriber will dial 127 and listen to the instructions. An Orange subscriber can also dial #123# to access the USSD menu and select the service.

Safaricom’s Nzioka Waita was at pains last night trying to make me look like I created the mess they are having with the IEBC in the Results Transmission System (RTS). Nzioka deviated from the official paths without provocations calling me names and desperately trying to say that IEBC is PERFECT, Safaricom is PERFECT and I am the problem.

First his history, after campus, Nzioka Waita joined Safaricom. He has worked NOWHERE else and is not well informed as he might want you to believe. He is not even aware of what technically happens when Safaricom say they have deployed a VPN for IEBC which supports over 31,000 transmitting stations. Again Nzioka Waita was at Safaricom when Mobitelea owned a good chunk of the company. He together with other employees who were later promoted, were privy to the details of what happened there. In a nutshell, Nzioka is part of the extremely dirty remnants of the old, corrupt and arrogant Safaricom management. Ask any former or current employee of Safaricom who can be honest with you.

He was then not honest enough to admit or reveal the illegal shareholding structure. He was dishonest and comfortable in the dishonesty to stay mum and defraud Kenyans as long as he earned salaries. That is why he MUST not pretend that he is some angel who is going to be honest with Kenyans and reveal to Kenyans when Safaricom’s VPN deployed to support IEBC’s RTS fail the integrity test. No Nzioka is not that honest.

I have more info which I will not fail to deliver should need arise but the information I have, Nzioka does not have. He has my contacts and can ask me what I have. He chose to rant on social media so that he could gain followers which he has been desperate to have (he has called me severally to retweet his tweets).

A former senior employee who worked at a level higher than Nzioka Waita describe him as “kiddish and having inflated ego since he rose so fast up the management ladder at Safaricom.” The former engineer at Safaricom also reveal that Safaricom HAS NEVER before this election deployed a VPN anywhere.

Safaricom has failed to invest in a robust system which ensure the smooth operation of its voice, data and M-Pesa systems. M-Pesa and data fail every other day. You wonder how IEBC even saw them as a reliable provider. Profitability can be through conmanship so it must not be what is used to judge a provider. Mission critical systems need knowledgeable provider. On deploying one-way systems, Safaricom is not a reliable provider.

Again Safaricom’s association with the Kenyatta family (shareholding and major business partnerships). Safaricom has in many previous occasions acted in a corrupt manner to satisfy individual interests. You can get this from the time Safaricom was only owned by Vodafone, Mobitelea and the government. When they were about to go public, some of the statements which were being made by the CEO then, Michael Joseph, were more political than purely business.

He said;

“They have never deployed those one way channels anywhere before and coupled with the fact that IEBC did not know what they wanted and Safaricom saw the opportunity to make money, they grabbed the opportunity.”

One engineer currently working at Safaricom has also revealed to me that the problem was on the Results Transmission System (RTS), the serve and Safaricom’s delivery channel. He said that Safaricom’s claim that they normally observe over 3,000 MBps “is hogwash since a VPN depend on a specially designed channel with own specifications. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a VPN.”

Below is Safaricom’s statement;

Following numerous queries from the media and in response to public concern, leading integrated communications service provider Safaricom Limited wishes to clarify its specific role with respect to the conduct of the historic  March 4th, 2013 General Elections.

1.       Safaricom was one of several service providers contracted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission “IEBC” to provide network connectivity for the electronic transmission of electoral results.

2.       In accordance with the terms of our contract with the IEBC , Safaricom’s responsibilities were twofold, the first was to provide the virtual private network (VPN) for the conveyance of the results from polling stations across the country previously identified as having sufficient mobile coverage to the IEBC’s constituency, county and national tallying center infrastructure.

The second was to deliver 17,900 original manufacturer warranted handsets to the IEBC for use by polling staff for purposes of transmitting electronic results.  Safaricom was neither involved in the supply of the software to be used on the mobile handsets nor the distribution and storage of the devices.

3.       The observed traffic on the VPN provided by Safaricom did not exceed 3.5 Mbps at any time. When put in to context this is a small fraction of the 3,000 Mbps traffic we observe at any time in our network.

4.       The total number of mobile devices provisioned to be used by the IEBC polling staff to relay results on the Safaricom VPN were 32,000, this represents only 2% of the 1.5 million devices connected to our data network at any given time.

5.       Further, it must be clarified that during the entire election period

 a.      Safaricom’s role is simply to provide connectivity between the mobile devices and the IEBC tallying centers. Safaricom did not and does not have any role in the technical design, management or specification of the servers, the mobile software application nor the graphic presentation of the results data used by the IEBC.

b.      The Safaricom mobile and virtual private network has remained robust with 100% uptime in all areas where coverage was to be provided.

c.       Safaricom has provided unrestricted access to representatives of the 8 presidential candidates to assess and monitor its network performance. All of them were and still are confident in our network quality.

As a responsible corporate citizen, Safaricom appreciates and takes seriously its assigned responsibilities and will continue to play its part to support the IEBC in its duties.

Bob Collymore

Chief Executive Officer

Airtel Kenya has launched two new ultra-modern Airtel Xpress shops in Embakasi, off Old North Airport Road and in Commerce House along Moi Avenue in Nairobi. The operator looks to continue offering high quality services and relevant mobile solutions to its customers at their convenience.

The new outlets will provide a range of services among them Airtel data settings, Airtel Money, post-paid activation, bill payments, selling of prepaid lines, airtime, modems and handset sales.  Airtel customers will get to enjoy discounts on various handsets and access to all of Airtel’s  new range of products and offers as part of the celebration of unveiling the new outlet.

CCK claims that more than 1.28 million unregistered SIM cards have been suspended by the 4 mobile services operators from service since the deadline of the registration exercise.

Safaricom leads the pack with 800,000 unregistered SIM cards already off-air. Yu and Orange have suspended 290,000 and 120,010 unregistered lines from service, respectively. Airtel on the other hand has switched off 70,830 unregistered SIM cards.

CCK Director General Mr. Francis W. Wangusi attributed delays in disconnection of the more than six million unregistered SIM cards to verification of registration data received from mobile line dealers and agents countrywide.

“The verification exercise is quite involving as the mobile operators have to ensure that no registered mobile line is suspended from service,” said Mr. Wangusi.

Mr. Wangusi said the overriding aim of the registration exercise is to achieve total compliance. He made an appeal to those who have not registered their lines to do so within the 90day period before their SIM cards are permanently de-activated.

Below is the up to date data:

Safaricom has announced that it has switched off 800,000 unregistered SIM cards in a phased exercise. The exercise seeks to comply with the newly published Government regulations on mandatory SIM card registration. According to a statement from the giant mobile network operator, it conducted the first phase of the switch off on Thursday evening after the system had been updated with registrations that came in on the 31^st of December 2012.

Company CEO Mr. Bob Collymore said, “We have been doing our best to update the electronic records after the last minute rush that saw a huge number of customers register their SIMs between the 31st of December 2012 and yesterday. We are refining the switch off process and it will continue into the weekend and those affected by the blocking will be unable to make calls or utilise any of our services until their SIM cards are registered.”

The operator which is the largest in the country has also announced that it has so far registered over 85% of its subscriber base. Unregistered subscribers who get switched off are advised to visit Safaricom shops and authorised dealer outlets to start the process of reinstatement.

But some of the affected subscribers have indicated that they are still able to receive calls and SMS but only the outgoing services have been blocked.

Most of the users of the platform are between the ages of 26 30 years with 29.71% of the subscribers in the age group actively using the platform while those aged between 31-35 years are second at 24.73%. Ksh 970 is the average savings amount and Ksh 1,092 is the average loan amount disbursed as of 27 December 2012. Check the infographic from Safaricom below.

The potential reduction is more than 16% higher than the estimated saving in a study conducted in 2008. The research identified Ericsson’s mobile money as a potential ICT-enabled solution for emission reduction.

The report indicated that large amounts of emissions are generated as a result of unnecessary travel to access banking services in Africa. This includes emissions from the use of private and public transportation and, in the long run, additional road infrastructure, more public vehicles, and increased banking infrastructure requirements. Ericsson is taking the lead in providing millions with better access to banking services, which will significantly improve their standard of living and reduce banking-associated emissions.

Mobile money can also reduce travel needs within communities by allowing direct mobile bill payment. For instance, the electric company can charge consumers directly via their mobile devices, eliminating the need for the customer to travel to the company physically to pay the bill.

“Mobile network providers play an active role in fostering the adoption of mobile money to contribute to emission reduction. Network providers have  proven to be more accessible than banks; they are in a better position to leverage mobile money as a way to positively impact the environment,” said Mwambu Wanendeya, Ericsson Vice president and head of communications Africa.

In Kenya for example, there are 6.5 million subscribers who currently carry out 10 million banking transactions per day, with an average value of USD 20. The calculated environmental impact is 22 kgCO2 per subscriber per year.

If this level of mobile money penetration and emissions reductions in Kenya holds for the rest of the continent, mobile money would reach 161.3 million consumers and would yield 3.55 Metric tons in carbon dioxide emissions reductions in Africa alone.

ICT-driven solutions such as smart electricity grids reap benefits at the national level, whilst others like mobile money can result in energy – and cost – savings for individual households and businesses.

Safaricom and Commercial Bank of Africa launched M-Shwari just 3 weeks ago. But as of yesterday, the two companies have netted as much a Ksh 150 million in savings while Commercial Bank of Africa have an additional 645, 000 in clients.

Acording to a joint statement from Safaricom and Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), the service which rides on Safaricom’s M-PESA platform and launched on November 27th is seeing an average of 40,000 Kenyans sign up to the service daily. This makes the service one of of the most compelling financial services propositions in recent years.

Isaac Awuondo, CBA’s Group Managing Director says that M-Shwari’s take up so far is laying the foundations of what is likely to become a revolution in the financial system and a sneak preview to the future and rapidly changing world of mobile banking.

“We are trying to encourage a savings culture. No economy can develop in an effective manner without a strong savings culture,” Says Isaac Awuondo, CBA Group’s Managing Director.

The firms have also revealed that M-Shwari has received overwhelming support from the youth with those in the ages of 26-35 forming 43.5%of the current customer base. Men dominate the users of the service at 68%, currently using M-Shwari to meet short-term obligations. Savings on M-Shwari stand at over Kshs 150 million while loans currently stand at over Kshs 50 Million with CBA saying that “healthy repayment trends already noted.”

M-Shwar enables customers to save as little as Sh1 and earn interest rate of up to 5 per cent, while eligible borrowers seeking amounts for as little as Sh100will only be charged a one-time processing fee of 7.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, Safaricom is fighting the challenge by Faulu that it stole the M-Shwari idea from the latter. The company’s CEO said in a statement;

………………………………………………….. Safaricom Ltd seeks to clarify that M-Shwari is a banking product of the Commercial Bank of Africa and authorised as such by the Central Bank of Kenya.  

………………Safaricom Ltd has had a strong focus on Financial Inclusivity since 2007, when it launched M-PESA. The commitment has been sustained through relevant enhancements informed by proactive research into user habits, dynamic customer needs and emerging trends, relating to the use of M-PESA and other mobile finance solutions.

In developing M-Shwari which is the successful result of a 2-year product development process, Safaricom Ltd and the Commercial Bank of Africa followed the due legal process as required by the Laws of Kenya.

As Kenya’s leading integrated communications company, Safaricom has consistently worked hard to conceptually develop innovative solutions for all Kenyans. As a result Safaricom has built an enviable intellectual property portfolio.

While the allegations are lamentable and unfortunate, Safaricom will seek to have the matter resolved through the right legal processes. We believe that this law suit is tainted with malice because it is founded on untrue allegations.

We wish to assure our customers that all measures will be taken to ensure minimal service disruptions during this time.

With the recent reducti0n of MTR by CCK, Airtel Kenya is introducing new bundled voice call packages which are more cost friendly to the subscriber. The Pamoja Bundles which are effective today, 13th Dec 2012, will see Airtel Kenya subscribers gain up to 2.5 times more talk time depending on the bundle they choose.

Airtel Kenya looks to satisfy the different segments of subscribers with personalised call packages. The calls cost between 2 cents and 5 cents per second depending on the package chosen by the subscriber.

Out of bundle Airtel to Airtel and rates to  other network is 6 cents per second. Customers can subscribe to the Pamoja bundles by dialing *767# from their Airtel phones and choose their preferred bundle.

Just like the voice packages, Airtel Kenya also currently has existing data and SMS packages that are tailored to individual consumer needs. The company says that it is adding the voice bundles to complete the unique choice of daily communications needs.

The company recently announced SMS bundles where its customers are able to send SMS messages to any network in Kenya for as low as 20 cents.

Bharti Airtel is trying to buy a mobile operator in South Africa, three years after its failed bid to partner with the giant MTN, according to South Africa’s Sunday Times.

The weekly magazine quoting ”an unnamed source” close to Bharti Airtel Africa, said the company is looking to acquire either 8ta or Cell C as it seek expansion on the African continent. Bharti Airtel bought the Zain owned entities in Africa after failing to clinch a deal with MTN.

The source quoted by Sunday Times believe that Bharti Airtel would go for Cell C as 8ta is still struggling to gain market in the South African telecoms space. There has also been speculation of an impending merger between Cell C and 8ta after Cell C CEO Alan Knot-Craig hinted of the same.

8ta might be a target if Bharti Airtel is looking for future value as 8ta holds a huge chunk of 2.3GHz spectrum. The South African telecoms industry regulator is unlikely to approve 8ta selling off this spectrum to anyone buying the company, especially since it was awarded to Telkom and not 8ta directly.

So Safaricom launched its much rumoured product, mShwari (should we write it as MShwari, Mshwari or mShwari?), at an event which lasted for half a day at the Prestigious Windsor Golf and Country Club. At the event, Safaricom touted the product as “the next big thing” after m-Pesa.

mShwari is a savings and credit product targeted at the low income earners. Users would be able to save from a minimum of just Ksh 1 and qualify to borrow from a minimum of Ksh 100 depending on the credit rating of the user. The credit rating of the user will be generated automatically depending on how she/he saves and withdraws from the mShwari facility. Safaricom will charge a “facilitation fee” (not interest rate) of 7.5% of the borrowed amount. This will be adjusted depending on whether the subscriber score positively during saving and repayments.

mShwari Teaser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1pXY6O4tNs

The product is not new since Airtel launched the Kopa Chapaa product early this year. Kopa Chapaa gives loans of between Ksh 1,000 and 10,000. It is a service between Faulu Kenya and Airtel Kenya. Kopa Chapaa has a repayment period of 10 days while mShwari has a repayment period of 30 days.

To qualify for credit on Kopa Chapaa, Airtel Kenya want you to have been on the Airtel Money for at-least 6 months and performed at-least two transactions. Kopa Chapaa’s interest (or facilitation fee) is higher at 8.5% of the principle amount.

• M-Shwari is a paperless
• M-Shwari’s interest on savings are better than those of banks
• Interest is calculated daily and paid out at the end of every three months
• There is no minimum balance on M-Shwari.
• There are no ledger fees.
• There are no withdrawal charges in moving money between M-Shwari account and M-PESA.

mShwari is also a saving product where interest earned is calculated as below

• Ksh 1 -­ 10,000 2%
• Ksh 10,001-­ 20,000 3%
• Ksh 20,001 -­ 50,000 4%
• Ksh above  50,001 -­ 5%

There are no ledger fees, limits on the number of withdrawals, minimum balance nor charges on deposits for M-Pesa to M-Shwari account. If you have not paid your loan within 30 days, your loan repayment period will be extended for another 30 days and you will be charged an additional 7.5% facilitation fee on your outstanding loan balance.

Early repayment of mShwari loans will increase your future loan limit qualification. Your loan limit is dependent on your previous loan repayment behaviour and usage of other Safaricom services such as Voice, DATA and M-PESA.

To support the monitoring and tracking of defaulters, Ministry of Immigrations and Registration of Persons has unveiled a Integrated Population Registration System (DIPRS) database. The database will have all details of Kenyans who are a live and the dead.

Safaricom is very cunning, with mShwari, it has just got money to finance its ambitious data infrastracture throughout the country. With more than Ksh 200 billion reported as being hidden below mattresses, stones and on roofs, Safaricom can easily get Ksh 100 billion of this and just get the Ksh 2 billion it need for the Fibre rollout from that.

It just makes me sad on who really owns Safaricom and M-Pesa. Kenyan government is just making a big mistake letting Vodafone own M-Pesa for so long. The presence of British High Comissioner, H. Turner, at the M-Shwari was such a strong statement to Kenyans on who is really going to laugh in all these massive “innovations.”

Albert Einstein once said, “to raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and it marks real advancement.” These words contain in them a message and a philosophy that we at Safaricom uphold; that to truly add value to the lives of our customers we have to be innovative.

The launch of a new product is commonplace for many companies. For us, a new product means new solutions, new possibilities, and real advancement.

For Safaricom, our satisfaction is in seeing our customers’ lives transformed by our products. We listen closely to our customers so that we can provide viable solutions for them. That is how we measure advancement.

We brought you M-PESA, which singlehandedly revolutionized how 15 million Kenyansmove money around. We are proud of what M-PESA has done and continues to do. Butnow Ladies and gentlemen, we are looking beyond M-PESA. We are creating solutions to other existing problems.

Today, we are proud to be introducing our new life-changing product. In the past few years, we have spoken proudly of financial inclusion in Kenya. However, the numbers on the ground seem to contradict our excitement. In a population of 20 million adults, only 10 million Kenyans have access to formal financial services. This means that almost half of the adult population in the country does not have access to the important ingredient necessary for economic growth.

Research suggests that only 6 million Kenyans hold the 12 million bank accounts we have. What these figures do not capture is the funds that do not make it into the formal banking system. I am talking about money that is hidden away in the layers of the mattresses, lockboxes, and some even buried away in the ground.

What is even more startling is the amount of unbanked money. Research indicates that a staggering 200 billion shillings remains unbanked, not earning interest and not generating much value to their owners. . More importantly however, these funds are not safe.

Financial inclusion is as fundamental a human right as any other. We are all well aware of the link between financial inclusion and poverty alleviation. The fact that half of our adult population cannot access formal financial services is dispiriting in the country’s journey towards Vision 2030.

Looking at all this, one would confidently argue that there indeed is a gap staring at us even as we speak proudly of ‘financial inclusion’. It is said that inclusive societies are accessible societies. We therefore need viable ways to help the unbanked save efficiently and safely.

The product we launch today provides an answer to all these issues. This product is a starting point to getting this money out of the mattresses and placing it where it generates interest and adds value to its owners. Safaricom is proud today to present M-Shwari.

M-Shwari, an innovative tool that enables people to save and borrow money using their mobile phones. We have partnered with Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) to bring you a product that will give poor Kenyans access to affordable loans based on their savings.We believe that it will transform lives by providing financial access for all and enhancing the culture of saving among Kenyans while providing the poor with access to affordable credit.

This is a product that will make our customers’ money work for them, no matter how little or how much.  With M-Shwari, one can save as little as 1 shilling and borrow as low as 100 shillings.

M-Shwari will go long way in sustaining many poor Kenyan families by providing a seamless avenue to save, earn interest, and borrow without loss of dignity. We know that the future is never ours to predict, and that emergencies like sickness or death are inevitable. For those with access to formal banking services, banks often come to the rescue. However, for the millions of the unbanked, shylocks and the kiosk owners are the redeemers. On tough days, M-Shwari will be there to provide micro-credit services at a minimum of Ksh100 anytime. The loan shall be transferred instantly to the customer’s M-Pesa account.

Many unbanked adults talk about distance from the banks and opening balances as impeding factors. M-Shwari will require no minimum balance. There will be no charges for moving money from M-Pesa to M-Shwari and vice-versa. There will be no need to fill in a paper, form or produce identity cards to access these services. Simply put, there will be no excuse for anyone to save money under a pillow, in a mattress or lock box

Financially inclusive societies create and unleash the potential for all to contribute to prosperity and stability in development. That is what we at Safaricom want to achieve with our M-Shwari product. We know the possibilities for the creation of wealth and reduction of poverty. We know the difference it can make if the millions of men and women who are excluded from financial services have access to them.

That is why we are proud of M-Shwari because it will ensure that financial services are not an exclusive preserve for a few, but an accessible service for all.

As I conclude, I would like to thank Commercial Bank of Africa for walking this journey with us. Without them, this product would not be possible. CBA has always taken a chance with Safaricom from when we launched what would become our most celebrated product, M-PESA to today when we are launching an equally transformative product. CBA, we are grateful for your partnership and just as equally thankful for the role you have played in bringing financial inclusion to all Kenyans.

I would also like to thank the Government of Kenya and particularly the Central Bank of Kenya and ministry of Finance.  These two government vehicles have been forward thinking in harnessing the power of mobile technology for financial inclusion. To the Ministry of Information and Communications, thank you for fostering an innovative ICT sector.

Thank you all for encouraging mobile operators to be more innovative in delivering products that add value to our lives.

Asanteni sana.

Safaricom is planning to further its goal of financial inclusion by launching a mobile money based credit scheme. The mobile services provider will be launching a service called M-Shwari which, from the explanations, look like a replacement to M-Kesho (done in partnership with Equity Bank).

According to an insider at Safaricom, “M-Shwari is an enhancement of M-Kesho.”

The service  is not only a credit scheme but also a savings scheme according to an insider at Safaricom. The service is a partnership between Safaricom and CBA where users will save a minimum of Ksh 10 to be able to enjoy credit facilities from the service. The users will be able to gain credit after a minimum of 6 months usage. The credit facilities will be accorded to the users who will met some minimum conditions during the 6-months usage. It will also vary on the usage of the service.

I have just been informed that a saving of between Ksh 10 – 10,000 will attract an interest of up to 2% (not clear if it is per year or per month).

This move might scare banks with many which have feared that M-Pesa is replacing banks. Banks have previously called for the regulation and control of what can be done of M-Pesa citing reasons as flimsy as that “M-Pesa is unsafe.”

Let’s wait for the launch tomorrow and get the details.

Japanese Electronics company Sharp has made an entry into the Kenyan market for the second time by  launching the first commercially available 80-inch LED TV and its latest Double French Refrigerator.

Sharp General Manager for Middle East FZE Tagami Yasuharu said these products are targeted at the Kenyan luxury lifestyle market. Sharp which is celebrating 100 years of existence this yea, is launching in the Kenyan market after a lull for some duration.

At the launch event, the company revealed that it is looking to grow its electronics market share to 20 percent by 2014 from the current less 5 percent, banking on the growing middle class and upmarket consumers.

Its flagship 80-inch AQUOS LED TV promises enhanced picture quality, impressive functionality, and energy-efficiency. It will retail at Sh1 million. The new Double French Refrigerator, on the other hand, carves a niche in the high-end luxury kitchen segment with its bigger size, attractive functions and impressive specifications.

Kenya is one the first markets in Africa to have the 80-inch TV, making the country a focal point in its drive into the larger East African market.

The two new products are part of the “From Bigger to Biggest” products line which rides on the 10^th generation LCD panel technology.

80 Inch “Real as life” Home Entertainment Specs

The full HD Japanese made panel, Sharp’s flagship 80 inch model LC-80LE940X provides more than twice the screen area of an average 55-inch TV. It features Sharp’s 4^th Generation Quattron technology for better 3D viewing, plus direct LED backlighting and Aquo-motion Pro (240Hz) to decrease blur during fast-moving videos. It also boasts advanced Wi-Fi capabilities, which are further strengthened by Sharp’s smart TV interface, allowing customers to enjoy applications such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The interface also allows customized preferences which allow users to send photos, music and videos wirelessly.

Sharp’s new Double French Refrigerator SJ-F80PE features 4 doors, a multi-function LCD screen and eco-friendly and long lasting LED lighting. It offers a total of 724 litres of usable capacity for food and beverages storage. In addition, the refrigerator is equipped with Sharp renowned Plasmacluster Ion technology (PCI) to ensure hygienic refrigeration and help keep food fresh for longer. Equipped with an Aluminum Hybrid cooling panel system and anti-bacterial honey-comb filter this fridge is a must-have for any modern household. PCI Technology reduces levels of undesirable contaminants in the refrigerator’s interior such as airborne mould, fungi and adhering bacteria, keeping food fresher for longer.

Safaricom today hosted, Hailemariam Desalegn, The Prime Minister of Ethiopia  and showcased its products and services  well as best practices in  the telecommunications sector.

The Ethiopian premier’s visit to Safaricom was part of a two day official visit to Kenya where he called on select institutions to gain a first-hand perspective on the operations of leading companies.

During the tour of Safaricom the Prime Mister said: “We would like learn and see greater partnerships between Safaricom and Ethiopia as we work to grow our ICT sector.

Safaricom’s success especially in the field of innovation and in M-PESA has placed Kenya on the world map.

During his official visit at the Safaricom Head Office, the Ethiopian Prime Minister who was accompanied by Dr. Bitange Ndemo PS  Ministry of Information and Communications held discussions with the Safaricom Senior Management and viewed M-PESA operations.

Ethiopia is looking to countries such as Kenya, Brazil and Pakistan as it seeks to develop its mobile telephony market and leverage off the benefits of mobile technology. With an estimated population of 91 million people, Ethiopia is Africa’s second largest nation and is seen as the next frontier for mobile phone led financial deepening.