7th August, 2020 THE KENYA GAZETTE will prevail. In planning and allocating radio frequency spectrum as well as developing policies, laws and regulations relating to spectrum, Kenya will take into account the outcomes of the International Telecommunications Conferences (WRCs). Union (ITU) World 1. To enhance public safety, security and emergency preparedness, spectrum fees may be waived for provision of ICT services in unserved and under-served areas and public institutions that provide critical life-line support services. | The institutions may also include those that provide critical public services such as national security, public safety and emergency services. Such institutions will be determined by the ICT regulator; 2. A Wireless Broadband Spectrum policy will be developed to promote the acceleration of uptake of Broadband services as enshrined in the National Broadband Strategy; and 3. Measures outlined in the National Broadband Strategy will be taken to ascertain that:¢ Broadband penetration reaches a critical mass nationally for its impact to be felt in the economy; ¢ Universal access to broadband is affordable; * Capacity and skills are developed for optimal and effective use of broadband services by end users; ¢ practices. The Government seeks to enhance the evolutionary velocity of the market and enhance the continuous adaptation of products, services and offerings to local and global pressures. Radio-communication Use of the radio frequency spectrum should contribute to the promotion of national interests, development and diversity, including increasing the amount of spectrum available for assignment, improving sharing conditions among different radio communication services and increasing the number of licences dedicated to community services. Supply-side skills are developed so that Kenyans can exploit economic and innovative potential of broadband. 3075 It is the goal of this policy to: 1. Increase the population of competing companies by creating incentives for play, lowering the barriers to entry, reducing the cost of failure, and encouraging the trial of new ideas. 2. Encourage efficient and equitable infrastructure to enable enhanced competition. access to _ public 3. Review the competitive environment for fair trade practices. Prevent unhealthy competitive practices through clear and strategically consistent regulations enacted in a timely and transparent manner. 4. Facilitate access to government business discriminatory tendering criteria, and a deliberate Kenyan owned business entities. 5. Maintain market integrity preventing and promptly punishing conduct. through nonpreference for and competitive honesty by unfair and/or misleading market 6. Facilitate an open, responsive, regular and continuous dialogue between government, regulatory authorities and market players with a view to maintaining a responsive competitive environment. 7. Create a liberal licensing and registration regime to permit companies and entrepreneurs to fail quickly, with low cost. This will take the form of rules that allow companies to be licensed for certain services and only pay for the licenses when they commence operations or achieve benchmark goals within predefined time frames. There will be deliberate over-allocation of provisional licenses to increase the number of license holders with the subsequent upgrade of provisional licenses to substantive licenses when defined targets are achieved. The regulatory authority will predefine and make public the total number of substantive licenses intended, when that target is achieved provisional licenses will be revoked. 6.2.4 Rules Equity Participation The Government recognises that the ICT ecosystem is complex, fragile and not understood with mathematical precision, and that transformative innovations are emergent and dependent to some degree on serendipity and a web of interrelated stakeholders who interact unpredictably. In this policy, Government is careful not to weigh in with a blunt instrument and damage one part of the ecosystem while trying to promote another part. The government strongly encourages Kenyans to participate in the ICT and Science & Technology sector through equity participation. It is the policy that only companies with at least 30% substantive Kenyan ownership, either corporate or individual will be licensed to provide ICT services. For purposes of this rule, companies without majority Kenyan ownership will not be considered Kenyan, and may thus not be calculated as part of the 30% Kenyan ownership calculus. Licensees will have 3 years to meet the local equity ownership threshold they may apply to the Cabinet Secretary for a one year extension with appropriate acceptable justifications. Policy Actions: This policy recognises four principal motivational instruments, which we call policy actions. Policy actions can communicate, regulate, incentivise, or demonstrate. Communication: The policy can communicate government positions, articulate priority areas, and disseminate best practices. Regulation: regulate and The government arbitrate the has the mandate use of limited and obligation to resources, enhance competition, promulgate and enforce anti-trust legislation, establish and maintain standards, and create a level playing field for all actors. For listed companies the equity participation rules will conform to the then extant rules of the Capital Markets Authority. Consumer Protection The Government will: 1. Protect all Kenyan citizens from unfair, deceptive or fraudulent business practices. Incentives: Create incentives to push or pull the private sector in certain directions using taxation, challenges, and investment of public 2. investigate and promptly resolve complaints. funds 3. enforce the law and punish violators. in R&D, mechanisms. internal and foreign demand creation and other Demonstrate: The government can invest in forward looking activities that do not have immediate commercial value to demonstrate technology, processes and viability. Competition This policy considers competition in two perspectives, encouraging healthy competition within the ICT sector in Kenya, and making Kenyan products globally competitive. These are not mutually exclusive goals, by ensuring that the market competition in Kenya is intense, we can ensure that bad products, services and ideas die quickly and that good ideas, products and services survive and improve. In brief, it should be that if a product is good enough to survive in Kenya, then it is world class and conversely, that if it is not world class it will not long survive in Kenya. The need for intense competition must be balanced with the need to prevent distortion of the market by the emergence of monopolies and anti-competitive 4. restore the rights, property and they have been violated. privileges of citizens where 5. Develop rules and regulations that maintain and ensure a free and fair marketplace. 6. Educate responsibilities. consumers about their rights, duties and The consumer protection policy is intended to: 1. Protect consumers from hazards to their health and safety. 2. Promote and protect the economic interests of consumers. 3. Provide consumers with adequate information to enable them to make informed choices according to individual wishes and needs. 4. Consumer Education.