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Kenyan Safaricom gets 10-year operating licence renewal for USD 27mn [IntelliNews - Weekly Reports]
[June 29, 2014]

Kenyan Safaricom gets 10-year operating licence renewal for USD 27mn [IntelliNews - Weekly Reports]


(IntelliNews - Weekly Reports Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Kenya's biggest telecoms operator Safaricom has renewed its radio frequency and operating licences for a period of 10 years, paying a fee of USD 27mn, the company said in a statement. The licences will take effect from July 1, 2014 and follow a prolonged tussle between the company and the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), during which the regulator had threatened not to renew Safaricom's licence due to poor service delivery.



Safaricom received its first 15-year licence in 1999, paying USD 55mn. Bharti Airtel and Telkom Kenya have also paid USD 55mn for 15-year licences, but Essar Telecom paid USD 27mn. Last year, the telecoms regulator said it would, going forward, charge a uniform renewal fee of USD 27mn for all GSM Mobile Operator licences.

Nairobi-listed Safaricom is 40% owned by Britain's Vodafone. It had 21.6mn subscribers as of end-March 2014, accounting for an around 70% market share.


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