Through a letter sent to consumer lobby group, Cofek, Telkom Kenya CEO Mr Mickael Ghossein came out strongly in defence of his company, saying it’s unlimited internet plan is indeed unlimited and it’s the consumers who fail to observe a fair usage policy as well as not appreciating the applicable terms and conditions.

This comes after Cofek accused Telkom of deceiving customers in its unlimited internet bundles campaign dubbed: Unlimited changes with Orange.

Cofek says it has received complaints from Orange subscribers who claim to only get 20GB bundles at the rate of KES 2,999 per month as opposed to getting unlimited internet. Once the 20 GB data is exhausted customers get cut off and are forced to buy the fixed bundles per GB.

Telekom’s latest response to the above allegations, through a letter sent to Cofek Secretary General Steven Mutoro and copied to CCK Director Francis Wangusi, Ghossein said, “The unlimited internet offers are at a fixed price for a fixed duration of time. At all times during the fixed duration, a consumer is able to access the internet service…….. It is important to note that the internet service is a wireless service offered through dongles/modems as well as mobile handsets and is not a dedicated resource but rather a shared resource. The quality of service will be dictated and be dependent upon the number of users within any geographical area.”

Here is a copy of the letter sent to Cofek from Telkom Kenya:

We refer to the above matter and to your e-mail communication of 17th December 2012.

We would like to confirm that Telkom Kenya Limited offers internet services to its customers in two formats, namely, through an unlimited internet offer as well as through specific internet bundles. The unlimited internet offer allows a customer to use the internet service for the agreed duration of time paid for. The internet bundles are of a limited nature and the customer will purchase a specific internet bundle that is limited in volume (amount of data to be downloaded).

The unlimited internet offers are at a fixed price for a fixed duration of time. At all times during the fixed duration, a consumer is able to access the internet service.

It is important to note that the internet service is a wireless service offered through dongles/modems as well as mobile handsets and is not a dedicated resource but rather a shared resource. The quality of service will be dictated and be dependent upon the number of users within any geographical area.

To be able to ensure that an acceptable level of quality is maintained for all our customers on such a wireless services, despite the offer being for unlimited internet service, it is necessary for there to be in place a "Fair Usage Policy" to be able to ensure reliable and quality services to all our customers.

In all our communications (including fliers) relating to the unlimited internet offer, we have indicated that there are applicable terms and conditions. These terms and conditions are available on our website accessible through http://www.orange.co.ke. For ease of reference we attach a copy of the said terms where you will see the terms of the Fair Usage Policy at clause 3.5.

While we concede that there is need for continuous customer awareness on the Fair Usage Policy, we confirm that as a result of the said policy, customers may experience a reduction in internet speed should they exceed certain thresholds in usage but at no time are such customers disconnected from use. Normal speeds resume once a new offer is purchased.

It is good to point out that there may be issues that arise where a customer experiences a problem related to the particular service that it not related in any way to the unlimited internet service or indeed to any other service we offer. In these instances, we provide the necessary solutions to our customers once we receive their queries.

Telkom Kenya has at all times endeavoured to respond to all customer queries and complaints in a timely manner and we continue to improve our processes in this regard. We request you to encourage all our customers with related queries to get in touch with our Customer Care department via the 100 number on an Orange line or through 020-2221000 via other networks, to seek clarification on the specific issues they have touching on this matter.

We note in your communication you indicate that you have carried out extensive research into our unlimited internet offer. We would appreciate if you could share the results of your research with us and would propose that we have a meeting to discuss the issues surrounding the unlimited internet offer to allow us reach a consensus on the topic.

Telkom Kenya endeavours to provide the best service to its customers and we appreciate the steps taken by your organization to ensure that continued service.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours Faithfully,

Mickael Ghossein,

Chief Executive Officer

:Letter sourced from cofek.co.ke

In response, Cofek Secretary General said, “We will study the letter and make a decision at the next Executive Committee after we receive the expert opinion from relevant committees.”