The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has announced plans to finalize new guidelines governing the deployment and roll-out of commercial internet telephony services in the country.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

In a notice on Tuesday, September 22, CA said it will hold a stakeholder validation forum on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, to review the draft guidelines following a public and stakeholder consultation process.

The forum, scheduled for 10am, will be conducted online as the authority moves to validate the proposed framework before its finalization.

After the meeting, the new rules will start operating, establishing a clear, fair, and effective regulatory framework for making calls through internet networks.

📌 What You Need to Know

"In a bid to promote a clear, fair, and effective regulatory framework, the Authority developed draft technical and operational guidelines for the deployment and roll-out of commercial internet telephony services that were subjected to public and stakeholder consultation," CA stated.

"The Authority has since reviewed the representations received and therefore wishes to conduct a stakeholder validation exercise on September 30, 2026, at 10:00 am," it added.

Internet telephony, also known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), allows voice calls to be transmitted over the internet rather than relying solely on traditional telephone networks.

Under the proposed guidelines, the authority introduced a revised quality-of-service framework specifically designed for 4G and 5G networks , replacing the 2G and 3G systems introduced in 2018.

The proposals also require mobile operators to install an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem, a core network component that powers high-quality VoIP services, to ensure proper call quality on 4G.

4G network operators will be required to achieve a 99 per cent Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), with calls connecting in under two seconds. Voice quality will also be measured using the Mean Opinion Score (MOS) standard.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke