Kenya’s communications regulator imposes $4.5 million fine on Safaricom

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has imposed a fine of about $4.5 million on Safaricom, Kenya’s biggest telecoms operator, for failing to connect calls made to smaller firms, according to company and regulatory documents reviewed by Reuters.
The regulator said in a letter to Safaricom, reviewed by Reuters, that it had received complaints from a rival, Elige Communications Ltd, that Safaricom was blocking calls to its network, adding that the telco had failed to follow the regulator’s directions as it tried to resolve the complaint.
Safaricom has denied the accusation, while accusing Elige of flouting its licence conditions by carrying international traffic instead of local calls.
The company has also secured a temporary suspension of the fine pending a hearing before an industry tribunal, which if upheld by the tribunal, would be the biggest fine ever imposed by Kenya’s telecoms regulator.
[via: Reuters]

