The Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) has requested Eaton Towers Kenya Limited to restore services to Telkom Kenya Limited (TKL) Subscribers. The notice comes after the tower company switched off Telkom transmitters on December 7th due to a KSh255.6 million debt. The authority also requested Telkom to perform its financial responsibilities towards Eaton, including paying off the debt.
According to a CA press release, TKL owes Eaton KSh255.6 million in applicable fees for services rendered between September-November 2019. As a result, the tower company switched off Telkom’s 49 telecommunication sites, resulting in an outage of services for Telkom users. The outage affected data and voice services as well as text and mobile money.
Therefore, CA, in a bid to cushion the consumer, ordered Eaton to restore services by midnight on December 13th. Eaton complied.
CA reveals that the suspension did not follow dispute resolution mechanisms provided for interruption of services.
Related Story: Competition Authority Okays Airtel-Telkom Merger
The condition requires a licensee to seek and obtain written approval from the Authority, issue a reasonable and issue an advance notice to persons who might be affected by the interruption of services.
CA Directive signed by Acting Director-General Mercy Wanjau.
The authority also urged TKL to make a reasonable effort to fulfill their obligations towards Eaton Limited.
CA officials will meet Telkom and Eaton on 20th December 2019 to review progress on the matter.