网络基础设施共享挑战对肯尼亚移动服务提供商开放式信息通信技术基础设施共享的影响(IJIEEB-V7-

I.J.InformationEngineeringandElectronicBusiness,2015,3,11-19PublishedOnlineMay2015inMECS()DOI:10.5815/ijieeb.2015.03.02Copyright©2015MECSI.J.InformationEngineeringandElectronicBusiness,2015,3,11-19EffectsofNetworkInfrastructuresharingChallengesonOpenInformationCommunicationTechnologyInfrastructureSharingamongMobileServiceProvidersinKenyaPeterNamisiko,Dr.MauriceSakwaandProf.MwangiWaweruCollegeofHumanResourcesandDevelopment,JomoKenyattaUniversityofAgricultureandTechnology,Nairobi,+254,KenyaEmail:[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail]—ThestudysoughttoinvestigatetheeffectsofnetworkinfrastructurechallengesonopenICTinfrastructuresharingbyMobileServiceProvidersinKenya.Specifically,thestudyinvestigatednetworksharingchallengesasthemaindeterminantstoopenICTinfrastructuresharingbyMobileServiceProvidersinKenya.TheempiricalliteraturerevealedthatOpenICTInfrastructuresharingcansubstantiallyreducecapitalandoperationalexpendituretherebyincreasingthespeedofnetworkrollouts,improvecoverageandhelpmeetthecapacitydemandsofincreaseddatatraffic.OtherreviewsrevealedthateachsharingenvironmentisdifferentandmayhavepressuresandprioritiesthatchangethroughouttheprocessofestablishingapartnershipbetweentwooperatorswithaviewtodevelopingaframeworkforOpenICTinfrastructuresharing.DatawascollectedfromemployeesfromSafaricom,AirtelandOrangeinordertostudythepopulation.Atargetpopulationof800employeesfromthethreeMobileServiceProvidersinKenyawasconsidered.BothStratifiedandpurposivesamplingtechniqueswereusedtoidentifytherespondents.Asamplesizeof86respondentswasusedinthisstudyusingbothstructuredquestionnairesandscheduledinterviews.Bothdescriptiveandinferentialstatisticswereusedtoanalysedatacollectedfromrespondentsinthisstudy.NetworkservicecontrolandCoverage,NetworkgrowthandExperienceandResourceswereidentifiedasthemainchallengesfacingNetworksharingbyMobileServiceProviders.ItishopedthattheresultsobtainedfromthisstudywillbebeneficialtostakeholdersinMobileServiceindustryformulatepoliciesthatpromoteICTInfrastructuresharingwithaviewtopromotinguniversalaccessandsavingonexpenditures.IndexTerms—Networksharing,OpenICTinfrastructuresharing,MobileServiceProviders,Challenges.I.INTRODUCTIONOpenInformationCommunicationTechnologyInfrastructuresharingisthejointuseofnetworkfacilitiesbytwoormoreoperatorssubjecttoagreementspecifyingrelevanttechnicalandcommercialconditions[1].ThemainreasonforICTinfrastructuresharinginmobileserviceindustriesinthecountriesthathaveimplementedhasbeentocutdownexpenditureandreducetheneedtobuildnewmastsonwhichtolocatetheirequipment[2].ThetermInformationCommunicationTechnologyInfrastructuresharingincorporatesSitesharing,NetworksharingandSpectrumsharing[3].ThetermNetworksharingmaybedefinedastosharingnetworkassetsthatareconsideredtobeanactivepartofprovidingoperatorservices,suchasantennas,radiobasestationsand,insomecases,spectrum.ThisformofsharingmayallowMobileServiceProviderstodifferentiatethemselvesbyprovidingvalueaddedservicesinadditiontothestandardtelecomservicessuchasPSTN(PublicSwitchedTelephoneNetworks),andGSM(GlobalSystemforMobileCommunication)servicesonmobilephones.IntheUnitedKingdom,OrangeandVodafoneannouncedplansinAugust2007tosharetheirRadioAccessNetwork(RAN)acrosstheentirecountry[4].ThiswasafterrealizationthataroundtwothirdsofallmobilephoneBaseStationsinuseintheUKwerelocatedonexistingbuildingsandstructures,includingbuildings,TVandradiotransmissiontowersandexistingmobilephonemasts.Bysharingexistingstructures,thetwomobilenetworkoperatorsaimedtoreducetheneedtobuildnewmastsonwhichtolocatetheirequipment[5].ThedrivingforcebehindNetworksharinginUKwascompetitivenatureofUKmarketthatledtodecliningrevenuesandmarginsandthestringentcoveragerequirementsimposedbyregulatorsthereby,forcingtheMobileServiceProviderstoembraceOpenICTinfrastructuresharingastheonlyalternativetocostsavings.However,AssetManagementandValuationwasidentifiedasamajorchallengeinnetworksharing[6].Tomitigatethischallenge,OrangeandVodafonecreatedajointteamknownasCornerstonetofacilitatesharingoftheircombinedUKmasts.Sincethen,Cornerstonehasbeendeployingnewmastsandconsolidatingtheexistingnetworksonbehalfofthetwomobilenetworkoperators.AnotherchallengefacedwasculturalalignmentandstakeholdermanagementofbothOrangeandVodafone12EffectsofNetworkInfrastructuresharingChallengesonOpenInformationCommunicationTechnologyInfrastructureSharingamongMobileServiceProvidersinKenyaCopyright©2015MECSI.J.InformationEngineeringandElectronicBusiness,2015,3,11-19[7].Theculturalmindsetsofbothcompaniesstifledthesuccessfulcompletionofthejointventure.IntheT-Mobileand3intheUK,thejointexecutiveteamgaveaclearvisionanddirectiontoallthepartiesinvolvedwithfullendorsementofthejointventure’sroletherebyleadingtotheconclusionofNetworksharingagreementbetweenT-Mobileand3[5].InKenya,eachMobileServiceProviderisexpectedtobuildorleasetheinfrastructureitrequires,althoughthelicensetheyownallowsthemtosharetheirinfrastructureoncommercialarrangements[8].TheGovernmentthroughCCKhas