KENYA: DELVING INTO TELECOMMUNICATIONS – COMPLIANCE WITH LICENCE OBLIGATIONS

It is important for Telecommunications Sector players to be vigilant in complying with conditions attached to any licences issued to them by the Communications Authority (“CA”). How to go about this is clearly discussed in part three of our TMT Tidbits: Delving into Telecommunications series.

Following our articles, which introduced the Telecommunications Sector (available here) and the key regulators (available here), this podcast deals with the day-to-day operations of a Telecommunications sector player from an outside counsel’s perspective. The moderator is Stephanie Mulului, with Rose Njeru as the speaker.

Rose highlights that, apart from receiving a licence from the CA, a licensee is expected to actively keep tabs on the obligations attached to each licence as they conduct their business. For instance, the CA expects licensees to file compliance returns at certain intervals, seek approvals where necessary, and notify the CA when there’s a change in control in the event new investors become shareholders. It is worth noting that non-compliance may attract penalties and even revocation of the licence by the CA.

Rose recommends that telecommunication licensees put internal measures in place to meet compliance conditions. Additionally, telecommunications licencees may engage outside counsel to advise them on what conditions they should meet and when and how to meet them.

Click here to listen to the podcast.