This archive report was first published on 23 December 2021.
As of January 1, 2022, Kenyans will enjoy cheaper inter-network call rates following a decision by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) to cap the costs that operators charge to connect and terminate calls on their networks.
The authority has set the cap at Kshs 0.12 per minute, down from the current Kshs 0.99 per minute, a move that will make internetwork calls more affordable for consumers.
According to Director Ezra Chiloba, consumers will now have access to a variety of affordable services across networks without having to switch to different operators. Operators, on the other hand, will have more price flexibility when developing innovative and affordable products.
"At the retail level, consumers will now enjoy access to a variety of affordable services across networks and at the wholesale level, operators will have more price flexibility when developing innovative and affordable products" — Director General Ezra Chiloba
Operators across the board welcomed the review, which is long overdue. However, Safaricom recommended that the authority adopt a cost modelling approach as opposed to international benchmarking to determine termination rates.
Airtel proposed that the regulator consider asymmetric rates, where smaller players pay 50% less than the largest operator, as a tool to correct imbalance in competition and bring relief to smaller operators.
It's worth noting that the new rates will only apply to local voice traffic, calls originating and terminating within Kenya. Operators also have the liberty to negotiate interconnection rates below the Kshs 0.12 cap.
