NAIROBI, Nov. 27 (Chinese media) -- The Kenyan government
has called on mobile phone service providers to lower tariff charges to increase
the usage of mobile phones in the country.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Kenyans are
concerned that telephone charges especially for roaming services have been
exorbitant and beyond the reach of many and expressed confidence that increased
competition in the sector will have a positive impact on pricing and services
offered.
"There is need for mobile phone service providers to
address the issue of costs. I believe charges could come down further and that
would get more people talking, more businesses running and more people
employed," he said.
Speaking on Wednesday night when he launched the
country's fourth mobile phone operator, Econet Wireless Kenya (EWK) services,
into the Kenyan market, Odinga said people wanted reliable and affordable
services that are also efficient and diverse in what they offer.
He noted that the mobile phone had great power and
influence on the lives of Kenyans even in the rural areas.
He cautioned that the fact that Kenyans especially in
the rural areas who were unable or even need landlines had embraced the mobile
phone so fast and so religiously should be lesson to those entering the market
of the capacity of Kenyans to move on and leave them behind if they did not meet
expectations.
Odinga pointed out that the government had embraced
competition as a way of improving on both the quality and quantity of services
provided, and emphasized that it would make competition ethical and fair.
"During the monopoly in the telecommunication sector,
services deteriorated and dwindled at the same time. Today, we have embraced the
tested philosophy that the private sector, operating in a competitive
environment is the best safeguard to the interest of our people who consume
services," he said.
The PM stated that since the liberalization of the
telecommunication sector, especially in the provision of the mobile phone and
Internet services, the country had reaped huge benefits in monetary terms and in
the expansion of services, improvement in quality and in reduction of costs both
in the Internet and mobile phone services.
He emphasized that the government would continue to
provide an enabling environment to ensure the telecommunications sector
contributed to the development of the economy by providing rapid, efficient,
reliable and affordable communications throughout the country.
Saying that information was power, Odinga observed
that when people talk and share information they come up with ideas on a wide
range of areas, including business, education and health. Nobody is in a better
position to play this role of information sharing than the mobile phone service
provider," he said.
The premier at the same time stated that Kenya was
positioning itself for the provision of offshore outsourcing services to benefit
from more information services businesses from abroad.
He observed that with political stability, Kenya
could be one of the world's fastest developing outsourcing destinations due to
the large English speaking, educated population, low costs and proximity to and
traditional ties with European and Middle Eastern companies.
"Already we have providers of this service who serve
customers in the United States, Canada and Europe. They employ about 3,000
people mostly youth," he said.
Saying the biggest obstacle has been the local data
and telecommunication infrastructure, the Premier noted to address the
challenge, the government had invested 100 million U.S. dollars in the East
African Marine Systems, an undersea cable to connect Mombasa with the United
Arab Emirates.
He said the project slated for completion by 2010 is
expected to bring the cost of connectivity down to the levels in India. Odinga
added that the government plans to complete a 5,000-seat technology park and
export promotion zone by 2012.
The Minister of State for Public Service Dalmas
Otieno said the government was keen on redressing the huge disparity of
telephone usage between the rural and urban areas.
Otieno challenged telephone service providers to roll
their services to the rural areas to make communication accessible to all at
affordable rates.
Otieno, who represented the Minister for Information
and Communication Samuel Poghisio, noted that expansion and improvement of
telecommunication infrastructure in Kenya would transform the country into a
communication hub.
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