Regulator seizes illegal equipment in raid on 680 Hotel based bureau

Communications Authority of Kenya director-general Francis Wangusi. PHOTO | FILE 

By OKUTTAH MARK, mokuttah@ke,nationmedia.com

In Summary

• CA says operations of the illegal bureau – Asterisk Technologies – have cost phone companies hundreds of millions of shillings, while posing a security risk to the country.
• According to the CA the firm was operating illegally since it is not licensed and faces charges of operating an illegal communications system, contravening section 24 of the Kenya Information and Communication Amendment Act.

The communications sector regulator has raided an illegal bureau based at the Six Eighty Hotel, exposing a syndicate that offered international call termination services.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), Monday said operations of the IT firm have cost phone companies hundreds of millions of shillings, while posing a security risk to the country.

The CA found hundreds of thousands of Telkom Kenya and yuMobile SIM cards as well as Voice Over Internet GSM equipment that can hold between eight and 32 SIM cards at a time.

The regulator also found receipts showing the purchase of yuMobile scratch cards worth Sh300,000.

According to the CA the firm – Asterisk Technologies – was operating illegally since it is not licensed and faces charges of operating an illegal communications system, contravening section 24 of the Kenya Information and Communication Amendment Act.

Those found guilty of contravening this Act are liable to a fine of one million shillings or to imprisonment of five years or both, a penalty that mobile firms like Safaricom have termed as too lenient and not enough to deter malpractice in the sector.

“In respect of the illegal setup we have found today, the losses incurred by the operators, which is dependent on the volume of the illegal traffic terminated, and which will require further analysis to establish, could run into millions of shillings,” said Christopher Kimei, the director of licensing compliance and standards at the CA.

“Of further concern is the fact that an illegal SIM Box operator, in a bid to avoid detection, often manipulates the calling line identification (CLI) thereby presenting a major security concern since it is difficult to trace such calls.”

He added that SIM boxing compromises the quality of service of the local operators’ networks. By diverting international calls to the local network, the unscrupulous trades have wooed majority of subscribers with their low-cost charges without the knowledge of their host.

The CA said it is still conducting investigation to determine whether the mobile operators whose SIM cards were found in bulk at the office did adhere to the SIM card regulations.

Also under investigation are the internet service providers that were providing Internet bandwidth to the firm. 

Stephen Chege, Safaricom’s director for corporate affairs, said the current law has failed to deter the illegal business.

“The main concern here is that operating a SIM Box system has not been made an offence under the existing laws,” said Mr Chege.

“This means that such fraudsters are usually charged with a lesser offence of operating telecommunications equipment without a licence as opposed to the operation of SIM Boxes.