CA welcomes classification of infrastructure in telecommunications sector

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has welcomed the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government Dr. Fred Matiang’i on the  classification of infrastructure in the telecommunications sector and other key sectors in the  economy as critical infrastructure. 

In a statement, Communications Authority of Kenya, Director General, Ezra Chiloba, noted that in the telecommunications sector, the infrastructure that has been declared critical spans across, data/voice communication, Internet connectivity, domain and Internet  Protocol (IP) management, as well as data and information management.

´´This timely and important development will now see greater efforts devoted towards the  protection, preservation and management of such infrastructure.´´ Said Chiloba.

CA says, for the last four years, about 25 masts have been destroyed, mostly in Northern Kenya costing  over Ksh 200 million in repair and restoration of services.

Twelve (12) of the destroyed masts  were in Mandera County, while others were in Garissa and Wajir Counties.

Similarly, operators have also  been incurring millions of shillings in insurance costs for the sites, which are considered high risk  due to the persistent threat of vandalism. 

Vandalism of ICT infrastructure not only denies consumers much-needed services, but also leads  to losses arising from disruption of services in other sectors that rely on ICTs, as well as essential  Government services. 

Chiloba said that, designation of critical infrastructure gives investors in the sector the confidence to continually  improve their infrastructure and service delivery, knowing that their systems and equipment are safe. 

While lauding the move by government, CA DG noted that more needs to be done, adding that the  Authority will work with all stakeholders to progress the agenda on the protection of critical  infrastructure to the next level.