Telkom Kenya is an integrated telecommunications provider in Kenya. It was previously a part of the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC) which was the sole provider of both postal and telecommunication services. The company was established as a telecommunications operator in April 1999, after the split of KPTC into the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), the Postal Corporation of Kenya (POSTA) and Telkom Kenya. The company is 60 per cent owned by Helios Investment Partners, with the remaining stake held by the members of the public through the Government of Kenya.
Website: https://www.telkom.co.ke/
Telkom is a technology company that provides integrated solutions to individuals, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Government and large corporates in Kenya, drawing from a diverse solutions suite that includes voice, data/connectivity, digital financial services, as well as network services. Powered by its vast fibre optic infrastructure, it is also a major provider of wholesale carrier-to-carrier traffic, within the country and the region.
These services are primarily offered through our Service Delivery Units: Digital (that offers: Data Centre Services, Cloud, Managed Services, Connectivity, Broadband, Carrier-to-Carrier traffic, and Backbone Infrastructure); Consumer (that offers: Data, Voice, VAS, and Content) and Digital Financial Services (through our platform T-kash).
Telkom is also building on strong, consumer-centric ethos and is committed to providing innovative, accessible and refreshingly simple communications solutions that suit customers’ everyday communication needs.
Established as a telecommunications operator in April 1999, Telkom is 60 per cent owned by Helios Investment Partners, with the remaining stake held by Kenyans through the Government of Kenya. Telkom has 4,152 km of its own terrestrial fibre cabling, serving as a key conduit for broadband connectivity, inland. Telkom Kenya also owns a 22.5% stake in TEAMS, a 5,000km undersea fibre optic cable through Fujairah, UAE, and a 10% stake in LION2, another 2,700km undersea fibre optic cable through Mauritius. It also owns a stake in the East African Submarine System Cable (EASSy) and manages the National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI), on behalf of the Ministry of ICT, an inland fibre optic cable network running through Kenyan counties. Telkom is also the landing partner for the LION2, EASSy, and DARE 1 Cables.
Telkom Kenya Services
The company operates and maintains the infrastructure over which Kenya’s various internet service providers operate. As of 2004, most internet service was provided via dial-up service. Jambonet, an important Kenyan ISP, is a subsidiary of Telkom Kenya. It also offers mobile GSM voice and high speed internet services under the Orange Kenya brand, in which it is the 3rd in market share after Safaricom and Airtel Kenya. In 2018, it was announced that Airtel Kenya was considering a merger with Telkom Kenya. In March 2018, the company resumed a mobile-money service that it had dropped in 2017. Referred to as T-kash, the service is a direct competitor to the M-pesa service, offered by market-leader Safaricom.
History of Telkom Kenya
In 2007 France Télécom (now Orange S.A.) acquired 51% of Telkom Kenya’s shares at a cost of US$390 million. In November 2012, the shareholding structure changed due to a decision by the Kenyan government to convert its shareholder loans at that time, into equity in order to ease Telkom Kenya’s debt burden. It was subsequently confirmed that the Kenya government would retain 40% shareholding down from 49% with the remaining shares held by France Télécom. In January 2013, France Télécom increased its stake in Telkom Kenya to 70% as a consequence of the government’s failure to provide its full portion of the 2012 funding. In June 2017, the firm was re-branded from “Orange Kenya” to “Telkom Kenya”.
On November 9, 2015, Helios Investment Partners announced that they were going to purchase France Télécom’s entire stake in Telkom Kenya.
Subsequent to the agreement to buy, Helios negotiated with the Kenyan government to own 40 percent in the new joint venture, with the investment firm retaining 60 percent. In June 2016, final regulatory approval was received for the deal to proceed. The current shareholding is as depicted in the table below.
| Rank | Name of Owner | Percentage Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamhuri Holdings Limited | 60.0 |
| 2 | Government of Kenya | 40.0 |
| Total | 100.00 |
