A Kenyan lawyer and IT practitioner, Adrian Kamotho has sued three mobile telecommunication companies in Kenya . He stated that the telecoms networks are depriving consumers of their unused internet bundles.
Furthermore, he stated that he was aggrieved by the high cost of data bundles and frustrated at the expiry of the hard-earned bundles.
The complaint was filed before the Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal. Mr Adrian wants the Tribunal to order Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom Kenya to provide their current data tariffs or display all current data tariffs on their website.
He also wants the telecoms companies to stop depriving consumers of their unused data based on the data expiry model.
Telecommunication companies practises
In Kenya, telecommunication companies discriminate against consumers by charging out of bundle rates that are different from normal bundle rates. Furthermore, the data expiry model is unfair to the poor majority who can afford to buy low amount bundles. These low amount bundles are designed to expire sooner than bigger bundles that only the rich can afford.
Data bundles should not have expiry dates until it is totally used up. It is equally unfair to make consumers use up their data bundles within a given period of time. All consumers should be entitled to keep the data they buy as long as they remain active on the vendor’s network.
Mr Adrian has subsequently requested the Communication Authority of Kenya to give clarification on the data expiry model. Also, it is the duty of the Communication Authority to protect ICT consumers from unfair, unreasonable and improper business practices.
It is also their responsibility to take active measures to contain deceptive, misleading and fraudulent dealings by telecommunication operators.
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The data expiry model is not anchored in law. It is also very important to note that Regulation 3 of the 2010 Kenya Information and Communications (Consumer Protection) Regulations accords customers the right to receive clear and complete information on rates, terms and conditions for available and proposed products and services.