Mobile operators Airtel and Telkom could face sanctions from the Communications Authority of Kenya over the poor quality of services.
In a report released by the regulator, Telkom Kenya Limited scored 65 percent and hence failed to meet the minimum Key Performance Indicator (KPI) threshold of 80 percent in the quality of service measured.
The highest performance was 72.7 percent in Vihiga, Mombasa, Nairobi and Nakuru. The lowest score was 36.36 percent in Muranga and Laikipia Counties.
Airtel Networks Kenya Limited on the other hand missed the 80 percent threshold by a percentage. The lowest score was 45.45 percent in Baringo and Laikipia Counties.
Safaricom scored 90 percent and hence achieved the minimum 80 percent KPI minimum compliance threshold.
The industry leader, which accounts for 80 percent of activities, has better coverage in most counties compared to the other two operators.
The peak performance places were; Busia, Kiambu, Kwale, Mombasa, Lamu, Nyandarua, Nairobi and Mombasa. The lowest score was recorded in Vihiga and Kajiado.
The lowest score was 63.5 percent in Vihiga and Kajiado Counties. They should be requested to upgrade these two counties.
The network coverage in rural counties was found to be very poor and doesn’t exist in some places completely.
The Authority monitors the quality of mobile cellular services provided by mobile network operators to ensure compliance with the licenses and consumer protection.
The quality of service (QoS) is performed according to the industry guidelines in the Quality-of-Service Assessment Framework enacted in 2018.
The report is derived from the consumer satisfaction and perception survey that was conducted and reported by April 2023.
Both operators, currently undergoing testing, have been put on notice by the regulator for non-compliance with quality of service performance indicators in department 33 of the 47 counties examined.
The regulator has set tough service standards requirements for the MNO’s by pegging the quality of voice telephony, data and Short Messaging Services (SMS) at a 80 percent threshold, failure to which attracts a 0.1 percent penalty on their turnover revenues.
“It is a requirement for mobile network operators to meet the quality of service requirements as outlined in their NFP-T1 licenses,” it said.
The latest Quality of Service performance report by the Communications Authority (CA) shows the two firms failed to meet a minimum threshold of 80 percent for the 2022/23 financial year, a quality breach fine by the state.
The Authority evaluates the telcos performances using the 2017 Quality of Service Assessment Framework, which requires MNOs to cut the number of unsuccessful call ratios to below five percent, call drops to less than two percent, call set-up time below eight seconds and completion rates at over 95 percent.
Regulations peg the SMS completion rate at 95 percent and delivery to fall below 30 seconds while extending Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) to three minutes.
CA has raised more than Sh500 million in penalties from mobile network operators (MNOs) in the last five years for failing to meet the quality of service.