ICT Consumer to take front seat in demand for Quality Service

An empowered ICT consumer is more likely to make good purchasing decisions and better use of the services. Additionally the high demand of ICT services across Kenya calls for delivery of quality services to consumers. This is the key motivation for CA to educate consumers on their rights and responsibilities, says Francis Wangusi, Director General, Communications Authority of Kenya.

The ICT landscape in Kenya is growing phenomenally. The appetite for ICT services, fuelled by dynamic innovations and massive investments in the sector is evident from the statistical growth indicators.

In the recent years, mobile money transfer services have revolutionized lives of Kenyans and contributed heavily to the penetration of financial services. On the other hand, the increased access to Internet has fueled online transactions; a trend that has now made e-commerce has position itself as the new frontier for business.

As at December 2015, the sector statistics report issued by the Authority shows that the number of mobile money transfer subscriptions stood at 26.7 million while that of mobile money agents is at 141,542. The number of Internet users has hit 35.5 million, thanks to improved access to cover 82.6 per cent of the population. On the other hand, the number of mobile phone subscriptions is at 37.7 million.

The successful shift to digital broadcasting has equally opened up the sector to new players with 62 television channels now available on the digital platform. This has also provided more opportunities for local content production and by extension income generating opportunities for Kenyans.

These figures clearly give an indication of how robust the sector is and more importantly creating the need for availability of quality services to consumers of   ICT services.

As an Authority, we pride ourselves in ensuring that we regulate all service providers with the aim of safeguarding the consumers’ interests through quality service provision. Consumer feedback is therefore very essential in informing our regulatory interventions from time to time.  While the Authority routinely monitors quality of service of the various service providers, consumers too have a right to raise concerns to the service providers and the Authority to demand quality service.

Kenya has made effort to address the digital divide through improvement of access, effective use of information and communication technology (ICT) and content. It however calls for continuous monitoring of the quality of networks, capability of bandwidth and the value addition derived from the use of ICTs, to maintain the momentum. This can only be achieved through consistent dialogue between service providers and their end consumers.

The need to fully engage the consumers to understand their needs is the reason the Authority has partnered with County Governments to provide platforms such as the County Consumer Forum, popularly known as Kikao Kikuu.

So far the Authority has held seven county consumer forums in the Counties of Machakos, Mombasa, Nakuru, Nairobi, Uasin Gishu, Taita Taveta and Kajiado.  We are happy that consumers are increasingly getting enlightened on their obligations and making more informed choices in their use of ICTs.

Kenya has ambitious digital economy goals.  These include improved connectivity in institutions as well as government to boost service delivery to citizens.  The participation of all stakeholders, including policy makers, service providers, County governments and consumers is important to ensure integrated implementation of ICT development plans in the country.

The Authority is committed in its vision of transforming lives of Kenyans through progressive regulation of the ICT sector and that by 2018 all Kenyans should be able to access ICT services irrespective of their location.

The Author – Francis Wangusi is the Director General of Communication Authority of Kenya. The Authority is the regulator of the ICT sector.