Stiff competition from mobile operators, vandalism of copper networks and high infrastructure costs are resulting in Kenya’s fixed line market shrinking.

This is according to a Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) quarterly report - based on data provided by service providers - which says millions of Kenyans have turned to mobile networks for their telephony needs.

The CCK says that from October 2012 to January 2013, the number of mobile subscriptions grew over 2% from 29.7 million to 30.4 million. However, the number of total fixed line subscriptions fell 5.5% during the same period from 262,711 to 248,300.

With regard to fixed terrestrial lines, there was a decline in the period under review of over 5% from 74,606 recorded in the previous quarter to 70,390 lines, says the CCK.

Likewise, the regulator says fixed wireless subscriptions were recorded at 177,910 during the period, down from 188,105 recorded in the previous quarter.

Mobile internet offerings, meanwhile, dominate the country’s internet market, contributing 99.2% of the total subscriptions, according to the CCK.

“The stiff competition that the fixed line network market has continued to face from the mobile sector has had a negative effect to the growth of this market segment,” says the CCK.

“Vandalism of copper cables and high maintenance costs have been cited as the main causes of the decline of fixed network service,” adds the regulator.

Although no African figures are widely available regarding the extent of the continent’s copper theft problem, the likes of South Africa, for instance, does track the problem.

According to the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) ‘Copper Theft Barometer’, the cost of the crime hit R13.97 million in October last year.

Stolen copper is exported to resource hungry nations such as China and India, which are experiencing rapid industrialisation and economic growth.

Fixed line provider Telkom Kenya, in a statement on its website, recognises the danger that cable vandalism in particular is posing to its business.

“Since the year 2006 to 2009, a total of 4631 cases have occurred whereby the loss sustained by Telkom Kenya amounts to approximately Kshs 2 billion, which translates to an annual loss by the company to the tune of Kshs 500 million,” says the firm in an online statement related to its ‘Anti-Vandalism & Cable Theft Educational Campaign Communication Strategy’.

“Although this vice is commonly attributed to theft of copper for commercial gain, a new emerging precedence is that optic fibre cables, which have no significant commercial value, are also vandalised,” adds the company.

Kenya, though, is not alone in Africa in experiencing the problems of cable theft or having low fixed line penetration rates.

According to Informa Telecoms & Media ‘Broadband in Africa’ report, the average Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) household penetration in the whole of Africa amounts to 5%.

And in countries such as Nigeria, Uganda or Central African Republic, the PSTN penetration rate is below 1%.

The research organisation also says that broadband access is increasingly becoming reliant on 3G mobile network availability.

“Even within the existing copper infrastructure, the poor quality of the metal and widespread theft of the cables mean that only a very small part of the existing infrastructure can be used to deploy broadband using DSL technologies.

“On the other hand, expanding the copper or fiber access networks is not an option in the short term, given the prohibitive costs,” adds Informa.

Yet Informa researchers say that fixed-line networks are feasible in certain urban centres in Africa, giving hope to this beleaguered means of communication.

Wananchi in Kenya is listed by Informa as one notable example that has rolled out a hybrid coaxial networks HFC-based network offering triple-play bundles in a market where demand was untested.

It had around 23,000 active subscriptions on its network by the end of 2Q11, says Informa.