Telkom Kenya is an integrated telecommunications provider in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. It was previously a part of the

Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC) was a government company that provided telecommunication and postal services across Kenya. In 1999, the KPTC was separated into three separate entities - Telkom Kenya, Kenya Postal Corporation a ...

(KPTC) which was the sole provider of both postal and

telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

services. The company was established as a telecommunications operator in April 1999, after the split of KPTC into the

Communications Commission of Kenya The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) is the regulatory authority for the ICT (Information, Communications and Technology) industry in Kenya with responsibilities in telecommunications, e-commerce, broadcasting and postal/courier services. ...

(CCK), the

Postal Corporation of Kenya The Postal Corporation of Kenya is the company responsible for postal service in Kenya. It is also known as Posta Kenya. Kenyan post system was formerly part of the Kenya Post & Telecommunication Corporation (KP&TC), which was split into Posta, ...

(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 ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Services

The company operates and maintains the

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

over which Kenya's various

internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

s operate. As of 2004, most internet service was provided via

dial-up Dial-up Internet access is a form of Internet access that uses the facilities of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to establish a connection to an Internet service provider (ISP) by dialing a telephone number on a conventional telepho ...

service.

Jambonet Jambonet is a Kenyan internet service provider. Until June 30, 2004, it operated as the sole carrier of international internet traffic to and from Kenya. Its monopoly partially ended on that date under terms of which the government of Kenya beg ...

, an important Kenyan

ISP An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

, is a subsidiary of Telkom Kenya. It also offers mobile

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...

voice and high speed internet services under the

Orange Kenya Orange S.A. (), formerly France Télécom S.A. (stylized as france telecom) is a French multinational telecommunications corporation. It has 266 million customers worldwide and employs 89,000 people in France, and 59,000 elsewhere. In 2015, ...

brand, in which it is the 3rd in market share after

Safaricom Safaricom PLC is a listed Kenyan mobile network operator headquartered at Safaricom House in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the largest telecommunications provider in Kenya, and one of the most profitable companies in the East and Central Africa region. T ...

and

Airtel Kenya Airtel Kenya Ltd (commonly known as Airtel), a subsidiary of Airtel Africa (owned by Bharti Airtel), is the second largest telecommunications services provider in Kenya after Safaricom PLC. It has an estimated 16.2 million subscribers of the tot ...

. 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

History

In 2007 France Télécom (now

Orange S.A. Orange S.A. (), formerly France Télécom S.A. (stylized as france telecom) is a French multinational telecommunications corporation. It has 266 million customers worldwide and employs 89,000 people in France, and 59,000 elsewhere. In 2015, ...

) 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".

Past shareholding

On November 9, 2015,

Helios Investment Partners Helios Investment Partners is a private equity investing firm operating in Africa and based in London, United Kingdom, with additional offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, p ...

announced that they were going to purchase France Télécom's entire stake in Telkom Kenya.

Current shareholding

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. In October 2022, the Kenyan government acquired the remaining 60% of Telkom Kenya from Helios in a $50.4 million USD deal. The current shareholding is as depicted in the table below.

References

External links