Thursday, August 13, 2009

Kenyan Regulator Plans New Levy

According to a report by local newspaper Business Daily, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has outlined its plans for the introduction of a Universal Service Fund (USF).
 
The regulator plans to impose a levy on the country's operators equivalent to 0.5% of a company's gross annual revenues to finance the USF, and has asked telcos to respond to the proposal by the end of September.
 
The CCK intends to use the money to cover the cost of network expansion in underserved areas, offer direct subsidies to help consumers offset the high costs of telecoms equipment and to set up 133 telecentres and electronic cyber labs across the country.
 
The report also speculates that the regulator may use the USF to fund the process of migrating from analogue broadcasting to digital broadcasting, which is scheduled to occur by 2012.
 
 

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