More Africa NewsKenya: Telecom regulator urges Telkom to settle financial dispute with Eaton Towers

December 19, 2019by myles

The mobile operator Telkom has been ordered by the Kenyan Communications Authority (CA) to settle the commercial dispute between it and Eaton Towers. The telecom tower manager claims to pay Telkom an invoice for the use of its facilities in the supply of its telecom services during the period from September to November 2019.

The intervention of the telecoms regulator follows the interruption of access to voice, SMS, data and Mobile Money services from Telkom in certain parts of the national territory between December 7 and 13. This interruption resulted from the shutdown by Eaton Towers of 49 telecommunications sites through which Telkom delivers its services.

Currently, the 49 telecom towers have been restarted by Eaton Towers and Telkom’s telecom services are once again available to consumers. The tower manager backed down in his action after the intervention of the telecoms regulator who threatened him with sanctions for damaging the quality of service. The CA argued that Eaton Towers did not handle the matter in accordance with the dispute resolution mechanisms set out in the conditions of license.

In making a unilateral decision to discontinue the service, Eaton Towers did not take into account the interests of consumers who do not have to be victims of the conflict between the two companies, the CA said.

Source: Agence Ecofin

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