This archive report was first published on 22 October 2019.
Kenya's Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal is set to make a landmark decision on whether data bundles should expire or not.
Lawyer Adrian Kamotho has filed a case against Safaricom, Airtel, and Telkom Kenya, arguing that the telcos are unfairly denying consumers their unused data bundles.
According to Kamotho, the telcos' data expiry model is discriminatory, as it charges consumers 'out of bundle' rates, which are different from normal bundle rates.
He argues that data bundles should not have an expiry date until used up, as long as the SIM card is active and the consumer keeps recharging.
Published on October 22, 2019, Kamotho's case has sparked debate on the issue, with many consumers calling for a change in the current system.
He believes that the current system disadvantages the poor majority who can only afford small amounts of data at a time, while those with higher purchasing power can buy big bundles with longer lifetimes.
As a result, Kamotho has written to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) for a clarification on the rationale behind the data expiry model.
He accuses CA of failing to cushion consumers by providing a roll-over option of unused data, which he believes is slowing down data consumption in the country.
