vooke explain: The Collective GEMA Push

[Robina]

Omollo, on Gemanistan, are we hopeless now that they have found a way around Chapter 6, etc? I rarely hear of NCIC anymore :-(

On a separate note, Safaricom's mobile money monopoly is a bad thing. Zero innovation for years. Time they stepped up.

[bryan275]

What is remarkable is the simple fact that having taken over state institutions that are supposed to curb such behavior, they proceeded to emasculate the institutions and bend them to allow, facilitate and support the very acts those institutions are supposed to be fighting. That appears to be the way around the institutions. While in the Kenyatta I Era, they would kill the institution and in Kibaki Era they would sideline it, under Uhuru they subjugate the institution.

It is the same whether you are thinking of the National Security Advisory Council which issues statements banning CORD rallies; Or The Central Bank taking partisan decisions favoring Equity and Nyooba owned businesses; Or KRA, Communication Authority and County Commissioners, etc.

Hear hear.  Now wait for those that call a cold description of their tribalistic ways as hate... Who's kidding who?  I'm looking at you Lamming and other lazy thinkers.

Dunia no duara, the best advice is that make sure you hang onto the instruments of power forever.  You never sideline a whole nation and then in the same breath call them lazy and haters.

What a hateful brainwashed community...

[Omollo]

Omollo, on Gemanistan, are we hopeless now that they have found a way around Chapter 6, etc? I rarely hear of NCIC anymore :-(

On a separate note, Safaricom's mobile money monopoly is a bad thing. Zero innovation for years. Time they stepped up.

Robina

During the Moi Era, mandarins and sycophants around him would target existing wealth and take it from the owner instead of creating new wealth. This predatory behavior did not die under Kibaki but became rather subdued - more like a black / white recessive gene lies low and in wait for years in a seemingly white/ black man. While Kibaki saw raw scavenging (Kenya Railways), we are seeing a resurgence of predatory behavior in full.

I blame Safaricom for the failure of the internet to take off in Kenya. While Uganda and Rwanda networked fibre cables around the country, Safaricom sold something called "Bundles" in some extremely unreliable, slow and clumsy wireless system. The Landline died (Remember Safaricom was created from the rib of Telekom to help improve communication). Now it has veered from its core business practically abandoning voice services to dwell on Mpesa and enter the lucrative Corruption Sector.

Is the answer a messy scavenging attack? How about the regulator doing his job? How about the Monopolies Whatever ordering the break up and separation of Mpesa and Data from Voice services?

This can't be done because GEMA controls those institutions for the purpose of making sure they do not function.

[RV Pundit]

Omollo,

i beg to differ. Safaricom has been one of the most innovative company around (and so has Equity).

Internet in kenya is far superior to most of africa countries including even RSA.

CBK too has been pro-innovation..allowing mpesa and agent banking....abd banking in kenya is definitely more superior than any country in Africa...i think we have about 80% of folks holding bank accounts.

And Safaricom is not a monopoly because we have 3 (now 5) more competitors.

CA have done well to allow Equity to compete...security fears can be dealt with as we go on.

I blame Safaricom for the failure of the internet to take off in Kenya. While Uganda and Rwanda networked fibre cables around the country, Safaricom sold something called "Bundles" in some extremely unreliable, slow and clumsy wireless system. The Landline died (Remember Safaricom was created from the rib of Telekom to help improve communication). Now it has veered from its core business practically abandoning voice services to dwell on Mpesa and enter the lucrative Corruption Sector.

Is the answer a messy scavenging attack? How about the regulator doing his job? How about the Monopolies Whatever ordering the break up and separation of Mpesa and Data from Voice services?

This can't be done because GEMA controls those institutions for the purpose of making sure they do not function.

[anarchista]

Safaricom is a monopoly , there's no doubt about that. Is safaricom an innovative company? I don't think so. Mpesa, which they claim, was never their idea. The were merely guinea pigs running a trial. So what have they innovated? Having mpesa agents was simply copying the sales book of vodacom india or vodacom uk where they have corner shops selling top-ups.

As for the internet Ndemo and that other ICT body they scrapped did the country a huge disservice by failing to properly plan the trajectory of internet use. Its not like they had to scratch their heads too hard- they could just copy any of a million countries. But they went to bed with safaricom and decided that because people were posting crap on facebook, we were fully wired.

Cables were landing in Mombasa every month yet speeds never rose and and rates never fell and in any case they had moved on to Konza City aka silicon savannah aka just another scam. How's that going?

Like Omollo, my take is that we should have focused on getting internet to the home. Gilgil could assemble computers given that you can get a used p4 for under 5k- thats still less than the cost of a cheapo chinese smartphone. Stick Linux on it and let the kids take over. There would have been a far greater economic benefit. And far more useful local content being developed and used.

As it is ihub is still trying to sell farmers milk where brookside has a monopoly or remind mothers of hospital appointments when the fact is she doesn't care about that appointment because she's feeling better and the hospital never has any medicines anyway.

Equity will give mpesa a run for their money- safaricom have already reduced their shylock rates. But last I heard MPs have put the CAK ruling on hold. You pays the piper...
Personally I think the onus is on safaricom to secure their system. FFS millions of chinese use thin sims. No tears there.

http://www.nation.co.ke/news/MPs-switch-off-Equity-SIM-card-to-await-probe/-/1056/2464448/-/vkxxgc/-/index.html


I think the gamechanger may well be the cashless fare system. If they? can come up with a system that can be transferred to say the local kiosk, mpesa is dead.

[bryan275]

Omollo,


The collective push includes modern day "prophets" too...

[Georgesoros]

This should done on a trial basis.

Omollo,

i beg to differ. Safaricom has been one of the most innovative company around (and so has Equity).

Internet in kenya is far superior to most of africa countries including even RSA.

CBK too has been pro-innovation..allowing mpesa and agent banking....abd banking in kenya is definitely more superior than any country in Africa...i think we have about 80% of folks holding bank accounts.

And Safaricom is not a monopoly because we have 3 (now 5) more competitors.

CA have done well to allow Equity to compete...security fears can be dealt with as we go on.

I blame Safaricom for the failure of the internet to take off in Kenya. While Uganda and Rwanda networked fibre cables around the country, Safaricom sold something called "Bundles" in some extremely unreliable, slow and clumsy wireless system. The Landline died (Remember Safaricom was created from the rib of Telekom to help improve communication). Now it has veered from its core business practically abandoning voice services to dwell on Mpesa and enter the lucrative Corruption Sector.

Is the answer a messy scavenging attack? How about the regulator doing his job? How about the Monopolies Whatever ordering the break up and separation of Mpesa and Data from Voice services?

This can't be done because GEMA controls those institutions for the purpose of making sure they do not function.

[gout]

will never understand cost of safricom internet bundles.... despite having your device the cost of mbs is crazy yet cybers where you use cyber's computers you get internet for 50 cents per minute ...10 shillings in most cybers will get you good internet experience compare that to available mobile data offers

[Omollo]

I haven't seen much of that Safaricom innovation. I have been to countries where there is real innovation. Leading telecom companies are also leaders in laying out fibre optic networks and providing improved (faster) internet services to homes and businesses.

The much hyped Mpesa is not that unique. It is a poor man's "innovation". I have been using my mobile to pay for goods and services long before Mpesa appeared in Kenya. Mpesa is not picking up in Developed countries because they can't go back to the pre-cambrian age just to make use of it. There is plastic and direct access to bank accounts by mobile phones which has been working quite well over the years. I think Mpesa itself must progress and improve to avoid holding back Kenyans away from progress.

Safaricom has belatedly been laying cables in Nairobi long after it destroyed the appetite for it with the so called "bundles". Nothing annoys me more than that word.

[RV Pundit]

Safaricom has been an engine of innovation and it's been rewarded by revenues and solid customers numbers. If you deride MPESA in this day and age then how can somebody begin to have conversation with you. It plain hopeless.

I haven't seen much of that Safaricom innovation. I have been to countries where there is real innovation. Leading telecom companies are also leaders in laying out fibre optic networks and providing improved (faster) internet services to homes and businesses.

The much hyped Mpesa is not that unique. It is a poor man's "innovation". I have been using my mobile to pay for goods and services long before Mpesa appeared in Kenya. Mpesa is not picking up in Developed countries because they can't go back to the pre-cambrian age just to make use of it. There is plastic and direct access to bank accounts by mobile phones which has been working quite well over the years. I think Mpesa itself must progress and improve to avoid holding back Kenyans away from progress.

Safaricom has belatedly been laying cables in Nairobi long after it destroyed the appetite for it with the so called "bundles". Nothing annoys me more than that word.

[vooke]

Omorlo should give his examples of innovation in Kenia

MPesa failure to flourish abroad don't take nothing from the fact that it has here in Kenia

Safaricom has been an engine of innovation and it's been rewarded by revenues and solid customers numbers. If you deride MPESA in this day and age then how can somebody begin to have conversation with you. It plain hopeless.

I haven't seen much of that Safaricom innovation. I have been to countries where there is real innovation. Leading telecom companies are also leaders in laying out fibre optic networks and providing improved (faster) internet services to homes and businesses.

The much hyped Mpesa is not that unique. It is a poor man's "innovation". I have been using my mobile to pay for goods and services long before Mpesa appeared in Kenya. Mpesa is not picking up in Developed countries because they can't go back to the pre-cambrian age just to make use of it. There is plastic and direct access to bank accounts by mobile phones which has been working quite well over the years. I think Mpesa itself must progress and improve to avoid holding back Kenyans away from progress.

Safaricom has belatedly been laying cables in Nairobi long after it destroyed the appetite for it with the so called "bundles". Nothing annoys me more than that word.

[Omollo]

Safaricom has been an engine of innovation and it's been rewarded by revenues and solid customers numbers. If you deride MPESA in this day and age then how can somebody begin to have conversation with you. It plain hopeless.

No. You have missed the point. Mpesa is an innovation. But it is over hyped. I am saying that other countries and networks have been responding to the needs of their customer base with equally encompassing solutions. I pointed out that mobile phones have been used to make payments over a long period of time and before Mpesa. I am not diluting the importance of Mpesa in the developing economies. I am putting this in context.

I have misgivings about how Safaricom came to reach it level of monopoly. True, it earliest competition was a joke. I remember complaining to them (Kencell) that any call would be charged even if it fell / failed to connect and they went ballistic. But at the same time Safaricom was using the facilities of Telkom. Masts were erected at post offices and telkom properties. It moved forward with a lot of government support.

You can't overlook the anti-trust activities it has engaged in over the years. Ndemo became their point man overruling the regulator to allow them to keep fleecing customers with high tariffs.

Why have all the mobile companies not opened up their networks for use by their rivals? I had some work in Shimba hills and though there were masts, I could not make a call because they belonged to a different network. While all networks have done this, Safaricom is the leading culprit.

Customers can easily flee Safaricom except that the company with the help of the biased regulator and ministry (especially under Ndemo) have made it very inconvenient to contemplate.

[Omollo]

Omorlo should give his examples of innovation in Kenia

MPesa failure to flourish abroad don't take nothing from the fact that it has here in Kenia

It has reached Romania. My point is not that at all. I just want us to curb our exuberance and understand that there are other innovations similar or better than Mpesa. 

[vooke]

This is no exuberance negro, it is where we @ and it is working for EVERYONE, else explain the 25B revenues from MPesa and the trillions worth of transactions. Negroes are dying to transfer. Remember their epic fail with Simu Ya Jamii?

So there are others ahead of Safcon in innovation? It don't matter, Safcon is not done yet, they now have merchants in it. MShwari is also riding on MPesa success. It is steps in the right direction that we salute not belittling their size

Omorlo should give his examples of innovation in Kenia

MPesa failure to flourish abroad don't take nothing from the fact that it has here in Kenia

It has reached Romania. My point is not that at all. I just want us to curb our exuberance and understand that there are other innovations similar or better than Mpesa. 

[vooke]

This argument is so much overused, you would think it is valid. Erecting masts on gavaa property is no advantage as such. There has NEVER been a shortage of areas to erect masts and providers pays next to peanuts for them. If Safcon used Telkom's non-existent infrastructure in any way, I'd listen to this argument.

Safcon like Equity bewilders many because of its frightening super fast growth and profitability. There is almost a Marxist tinge, aftertaste to these arguments. It goes like, 'if it is making all this money, it MUST be swindling us'.

Safaricom has been an engine of innovation and it's been rewarded by revenues and solid customers numbers. If you deride MPESA in this day and age then how can somebody begin to have conversation with you. It plain hopeless.

No. You have missed the point. Mpesa is an innovation. But it is over hyped. I am saying that other countries and networks have been responding to the needs of their customer base with equally encompassing solutions. I pointed out that mobile phones have been used to make payments over a long period of time and before Mpesa. I am not diluting the importance of Mpesa in the developing economies. I am putting this in context.

I have misgivings about how Safaricom came to reach it level of monopoly. True, it earliest competition was a joke. I remember complaining to them (Kencell) that any call would be charged even if it fell / failed to connect and they went ballistic. But at the same time Safaricom was using the facilities of Telkom. Masts were erected at post offices and telkom properties. It moved forward with a lot of government support.

You can't overlook the anti-trust activities it has engaged in over the years. Ndemo became their point man overruling the regulator to allow them to keep fleecing customers with high tariffs.

Why have all the mobile companies not opened up their networks for use by their rivals? I had some work in Shimba hills and though there were masts, I could not make a call because they belonged to a different network. While all networks have done this, Safaricom is the leading culprit.

Customers can easily flee Safaricom except that the company with the help of the biased regulator and ministry (especially under Ndemo) have made it very inconvenient to contemplate.

[RV Pundit]

You're confusing your personal feelings with your technical analysis of safaricom business (mainly in ICT+extra services). I am not a customer of safaricom myself; never owned mpesa account; i use orange mostly;

Let just say you're ignorant of the issues at hand and you're just complaining about quality of services, overcharged buddles and combined with personal diatribe.

No. You have missed the point. Mpesa is an innovation. But it is over hyped. I am saying that other countries and networks have been responding to the needs of their customer base with equally encompassing solutions. I pointed out that mobile phones have been used to make payments over a long period of time and before Mpesa. I am not diluting the importance of Mpesa in the developing economies. I am putting this in context.

I have misgivings about how Safaricom came to reach it level of monopoly. True, it earliest competition was a joke. I remember complaining to them (Kencell) that any call would be charged even if it fell / failed to connect and they went ballistic. But at the same time Safaricom was using the facilities of Telkom. Masts were erected at post offices and telkom properties. It moved forward with a lot of government support.

You can't overlook the anti-trust activities it has engaged in over the years. Ndemo became their point man overruling the regulator to allow them to keep fleecing customers with high tariffs.

Why have all the mobile companies not opened up their networks for use by their rivals? I had some work in Shimba hills and though there were masts, I could not make a call because they belonged to a different network. While all networks have done this, Safaricom is the leading culprit.

Customers can easily flee Safaricom except that the company with the help of the biased regulator and ministry (especially under Ndemo) have made it very inconvenient to contemplate.

[Omollo]

Well then, I will step back and let others debate until my personal feelings are separated from my person

[Omollo]

1. Mobile companies started rolling out their services in urban areas with Nairobi at the top. Is it true that it is that cheap to put up masts on private property in Nairobi? I do not agree. Not Mombasa either!

2. I think you are biased and not at all objective

This argument is so much overused, you would think it is valid. Erecting masts on gavaa property is no advantage as such. There has NEVER been a shortage of areas to erect masts and providers pays next to peanuts for them. If Safcon used Telkom's non-existent infrastructure in any way, I'd listen to this argument.

Safcon like Equity bewilders many because of its frightening super fast growth and profitability. There is almost a Marxist tinge, aftertaste to these arguments. It goes like, 'if it is making all this money, it MUST be swindling us'.

Safaricom has been an engine of innovation and it's been rewarded by revenues and solid customers numbers. If you deride MPESA in this day and age then how can somebody begin to have conversation with you. It plain hopeless.

No. You have missed the point. Mpesa is an innovation. But it is over hyped. I am saying that other countries and networks have been responding to the needs of their customer base with equally encompassing solutions. I pointed out that mobile phones have been used to make payments over a long period of time and before Mpesa. I am not diluting the importance of Mpesa in the developing economies. I am putting this in context.

I have misgivings about how Safaricom came to reach it level of monopoly. True, it earliest competition was a joke. I remember complaining to them (Kencell) that any call would be charged even if it fell / failed to connect and they went ballistic. But at the same time Safaricom was using the facilities of Telkom. Masts were erected at post offices and telkom properties. It moved forward with a lot of government support.

You can't overlook the anti-trust activities it has engaged in over the years. Ndemo became their point man overruling the regulator to allow them to keep fleecing customers with high tariffs.

Why have all the mobile companies not opened up their networks for use by their rivals? I had some work in Shimba hills and though there were masts, I could not make a call because they belonged to a different network. While all networks have done this, Safaricom is the leading culprit.

Customers can easily flee Safaricom except that the company with the help of the biased regulator and ministry (especially under Ndemo) have made it very inconvenient to contemplate.

[RV Pundit]

There is nothing to debate about feelings. We can only debate facts. Otherwise if we debate who got overcharged or had his calls terminated...we would need huge thread for that.

Well then, I will step back and let others debate until my personal feelings are separated from my person

[RV Pundit]

Safaricom began as gov parastal if you will...gov owned 60% of it..with vodafone coming in with 40%...so in an essence it was parastal..owned by Telkom Kenya. It began as dept in Extelecom. They therefore piggybacked on Telkom and public property.

And for that...the gov got paid...kshs 50b...for it's 25% shareholding.

And now the gov remaining 35% shareholding..is worth nearly kshs 200B.

Tell me any other gov investment that has been profitable. Let not about taxes..where safcom is now giving gov nearly 30B annually.

Safcom has repaid the tax payers 100 times.

Omollo quit hating (safcom or equity); step back and being objective.

1. Mobile companies started rolling out their services in urban areas with Nairobi at the top. Is it true that it is that cheap to put up masts on private property in Nairobi? I do not agree. Not Mombasa either!

2. I think you are biased and not at all objective