Kenya - Obtain a Service Provider License

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Procedure

Apply in person

1. To apply for a Service Provider Licence, the application should be submitted to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) regional office. CAK Contact Details & Office Location
2. The application for the license is done on the prescribed application form Application Form for an Electronic Communications Service Provider Licence and in line with the guidelines for the application for the License issued by the Authority. This application form and guidelines are available on the Authority’s Website for free download.
3. After downloading the applicable Application Form, fill it out and submit to the Authority the completed license application form and required supporting documents as stipulated on the “Required Documents” section of this page.
4. On receipt of the application file, the CAK receiving officer shall check for completeness of the form to ensure it meets the licensing requirements and registers your application as received.
5. The receiving officer will then issue the applicant with a Payment Instruction Form, which the cashier will use to receive payment of the requisite application fees of Ksh 5,000.00. Once payment is done, the Register with details of the application shall be updated with your application information.
6. The receiving officer will forward the application and supporting documents to the next level officer for further scrutiny and confirmation that the application complies with all the requirements.
7. The Evaluation team will prepare a report of their evaluation and present a summary to the Communications Licensing Committee (CLC) for further consideration.
8. The Communications Licensing Committee (CLC) shall deliberate on the application based on the evaluation report and recommend /not recommend the application for the award of a license.
9. Following the outcome of the CLC, the Authority shall in accordance with the CLC decision perform the following tasks:
   • Where the application is not recommended for award of a license, official communication shall be prepared to inform the Applicant of the reasons the application was not successful and the requirements for the applications to be processed further, if applicable; and
   • where the application is recommended for award of a license, the process of gazetting the application shall be initiated
   • Where CLC directs that the application be subjected to further processes prior to being recommended for license award, the applicant shall be accordingly updated if necessary.
10. For an approved application, the Authority shall prepare a notification for publication of the intent to license in the Kenya Gazette. The notice shall run for a statutory period of 30 days and the Authority shall communicate officially to the successful applicant notifying the applicant regarding the publication in the Kenya Gazette and the expiry date of the Gazette notice.
11. The Authority shall monitor the application on the Kenya Gazette for any representations/ objections and also shall address any representations or objections. A copy of the representation (if any) shall be forwarded to the applicant for information and/or to provide clarifications on issues.
12. At the end of the gazette period, the Authority shall submit the license applications for consideration by the Board.
13. Following the Board outcome, the Authority shall in accordance with the Board directive initiate official communication informing the Applicant of the Board decision and:
    • Where the application is approved, prepare official communication regarding the license offer informing the Applicant of the conditions of the offer including the prerequisite fee(s) and the offer validity period; and
    • Where the application is rejected, prepare official communication informing the Applicant of the reasons as to why the application was not successful and the requirements for the applications to be processed further, where applicable.
14. Once the applicant makes the payment for the license within the validity period of the license offer, the Authority shall prepare a draft license stipulating the terms and conditions of the license. The applicant shall be required to accept the offer before the license is issued.
15. The license has a validity of 15 years; however, the Service Provider license must be kept in force by annual payment of the prescribed license fees.
16. The details of the Applicant and license shall be recorded and maintained in a Register of Licensees.
17. The application processing time accumulatively is usually between 79 - 136 working days.

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Required Documents

• Duly completed and signed: Application Form for an Electronic Communications Service Provider Licence
• Duly signed Cover letter on applicant’s letterhead
• Declaration by the applicant with name, designation, signature, and date
• Duly executed affidavit submitting copies of the documents (no erasures)
• Business plan for the licence/s applied for enclosed
• Copy of Certificate of Incorporation/Registration Certificates or equivalent and similar documents for other shareholder companies where there is chain ownership in the applicant.
  • Where the Applicant is a Government Agency/body, a copy of the Act, Gazette Notice, or other relevant legal Instrument creating the Agency
• Copy of the current CR/12 or equivalent issued within the last 2 months indicating names of shareholders, their addresses, their nationalities, shares held by each, names of directors, and whether directors are nominees or not or whether non-shareholder directors.
  • Copy of the current CR/12 or equivalent, issued within the last 2 months for other shareholder companies, where there is chain ownership of the applicant, indicating all the details as above until all shares are attributed to individuals.
  • For Societies, a copy of the minutes of the last AGM or document indicating the officials/office bearers.
• Clear Copies of ID for directors and shareholders or notarized copies of passports in case of foreigners.
  • In the case of government officials, submit a gazette notice appointing the officer.
  • Copy of Certificate from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) (or its equivalent for foreign companies) in case of listed companies.
• A copy of the relevant document as listed below to be provided:
  • Society By-Laws or Constitution, (immediately prior to submission of Application) and Membership Agreement Terms and Conditions for Societies.
  • Partnership Deed for Partnerships.
• For MVNO Service applicant, submit a letter from the proposed Host Mobile Network Operator (HMNO) indicating the availability of spare capacity and willingness by the HMNO to host the proposed MVNO services.
• Certificate Practice Statement a Certification Policy in case of E-CSP applicant.
• Copy of Valid Tax Compliance Certificate of the Applicant (Not of the owners/Directors)

Note:

• Submit all documents using a sworn affidavit while all foreign documents must be notarized. Where application documents are signed by a foreigner, a work permit for the foreigner should be submitted.

Office Locations & Contacts

Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) - Head Office
CA Centre, Waiyaki Way
P.O Box: 14448-00800,
Nairobi
Mobile: 0703 042000, 0730 172000
Email: [email protected]
CAK Contact Details & Office Location
Website

Eligibility

• Any person(s) or company, and partnership registered in Kenya is eligible to apply for this license.

Fees

• Application fee of 5,000.00.
• License fees of Ksh 100,000.00 for initial operating license fees.

Note:

• Payments can be made in Banker’s or company cheques at our Cashier’s office on the ground floor at CA Centre. The Cashier’s office is open between 0900 and 1200 hours and in the afternoon from 1400 to 1600 hours on weekdays (and closed on public holidays and weekends)

Validity

• The license has a validity of 15 years; however, the service provider license must be kept in force by annual payment of the prescribed license fees.

Documents to Use

Application Form for an Electronic Communications Service Provider Licence

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

• The timeframe accumulatively for processing the application is usually between 79 - 136 days

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&>
from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

• The Kenya Communications Act, 1998, and the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act, 2009, vest the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) with the authority to license and regulate the communications sector in the country, including services providers.
• It is, therefore, illegal to operate a services provider business without a license from CCK.

Required Information

• Name of applying entity
• Applying the entity’s contacts
  • phone number
  • postal address
  • email address
  • physical address
• License details
  • Type of license
  • State whether any of the partners/ directors/ shareholders is undischarged bankrupt. (If so provide details)
  • State whether any of the partners/ directors/ shareholders have a beneficial interest in any other business licensed by the Authority to provide services or operate telecommunication systems or both.
• Referees details
• Declaration by the applicants

Need for the Document

This license allows a licensee to provide any form of service to end users using the infrastructure leased from any of the above NFP licensees. Such services include but are not limited to voice, data, Internet, mobile virtual network operator, vehicle tracking services, etc.

Information which might help

The services are all communication services except services that are contained in nature. Resources applicable to this license are numbering resources both for customers and for network nodes.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses for obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

The Kenya Communications Regulations, 2001
(Licensing and Quality of Service) Regulations, 2010

Others

More information which might help people.