Omtatah Takes on Gov’t Over 10 Times Call Rate Hike
Senator Okiya Omtatah from Busia has initiated legal action against the Communications Authority of Kenya, challenging the new mobile termination rates (MTR) due to their impact on high call costs.
In a statement released on Friday, May 3, Omtatah indicated that he had filed a lawsuit against the authority over the recently established mobile termination rates.
He asserts that the government has set the termination rate at Ksh0.41 per minute, which he believes has resulted in increased call charges.
In his legal filing, Omtatah seeks the court’s intervention to annul the existing order and reduce the rates to Ksh0.06 per minute, in line with the Cost Study Report’s recommendation.
He argues that the cost of making phone calls in Kenya is excessively high because of the steep MTRs levied by telephony service providers for calls made across different networks.
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Omtatah criticized the rates set by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) in November, calling them arbitrary and the highest in the region.
The regulator set the MTR at Ksh0.41 per minute on November 17, 2023, which represented a decrease from the previous rate of Ksh0.58 per minute.
Nonetheless, the legislator points out that these rates are seven times higher than the Ksh0.06 recommended by consultants employed by CA.
His primary goal in pursuing this legal challenge is to have the new rates annulled to facilitate affordable phone calls for Kenyans.
By bringing the rates down, Omtatah aims to ensure that the cost of calling remains manageable and within reach for all citizens.
Through this court action, Omtatah hopes to compel the Communications Authority of Kenya to adhere to recommendations that would significantly lower termination rates and thereby reduce call costs for the general public.
Omtatah Takes on Gov’t Over 10 Times Call Rate Hike