Embrace technology but protect our own

Safaricom PLC Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa addresses past function. [File,Standard] 

When first cars were made, people on horses derisively looked at the contraptions and wondered what madness had infected those seeking to make horses jobless.

The contraptions were some funny looking death traps and no more than a fad that would not last.

Horses were the mode of transport since the animals were domesticated and were here to stay, they thought.

The pioneer car manufacturers however soldiered on. They had a vision they knew would translate into a reality and completely upend the transport industry. As they say, the rest is history.

As an aside, even then, the pioneer carmakers had reason to feel a bit entitled. Henry Ford – maker of Ford cars – told his customers they could have their car in any colour as long as it was black.

The Wright Brothers faced same dilemma. They dreamt of flying high like birds and started working on a contraption to make their dreams a reality.

I can only imagine the look on faces of their neighbours when they made the first attempt to fly. Today, we take flying for granted without much as a thought to the two brothers.

Today, technology has made the world a better place. Recently, one of the biggest chipmakers produced a chip smaller than a mobile phone handset but has immense capabilities: over 8 billion transistors squeezed in it! This means we are now headed towards the holy grail in computing: quantum computing.

The point is technology changes very fast and we must adapt and roll with the punches as it were.

One of those heading this technological charge is Elon Musk who’s done what few have achieved, from Neuralink that is showing signs of becoming a breakthrough in medical science to his rockets that might just be the first to reach Mars.

His Starlink satellite-based telecommunication boasts a first in using numerous satellites to make the entire world accessible. Its global reach even in the most inaccessible areas has become a game changer; it has been used in high seas, warzones, deserts and the most remote places.

Of course, this has rattled many telecommunications firms because it has crept up on their territories. But should we then say we will not embrace this disruption – as happened in a few countries – to protect players in the market?

Telcos around the world have lobbied their governments to regulate this new space because they say Starlink can be a national threat; just ask the Russians who have made numerous attempts to block it on the warzone with Ukraine.

Of course, even Safaricom has warned of the danger of unregulated entry into the market for such a sensitive area.

Safaricom is our national asset that needs to be listened to and appropriate regulation put in place. The key role the telco plays in Kenya’s economy cannot be overstated. The company, according to its sustainability report, contributes upwards of 6 per cent to the Kenya’s GDP. On rare occasions when M-PESA goes down even for a couple of minutes, there’s a national crisis whose impact, if it was to be quantified would amount to billions of shillings considering that the firm transacts 2,600 transactions per second 33 billion transactions in its last financial. This player needs to be listened to but within reason so as not to stifle innovation and not end up on the wrong side of Elon Musk!

Such regulation has happened even in the largest economies of the world. In the US, the Chips and Science Act was enacted ostensibly to boost America’s semi-conductor research which was lagging far behind Taiwan, a tiny nation that however punches way above its weight in terms of chips manufacturing.

The government provided almost US$40 billion in subsidies clothed as loan guarantees, tax benefits and grants. I wouldn’t advocate for protectionism, but sometimes, we must look at the exigencies of the day and act accordingly.

-The writer is a communications consultant and journalist