The freeze on termination charges effectively means victory for Safaricom and Telkom Kenya – the two operators who had opposed a further reduction in termination charges citing its negative impact on the sector’s profitability, risk of job losses and overall economic growth.

It also sends Airtel, the low-cost mass market Indian operator that entered Kenya last year and has been pushing for a further glide in the charges, back to the drawing back over its strategy in Kenya.

Airtel maintained its push for further cuts in interconnection charges saying overturning a process that was transparently carried out and involved all stakeholders would be unprocedural and harmful to consumer interests.

“A change in the implementation plan for the MTR will have a severe impact on our business going forward because we have based our entire Business Operating Plan on the successful implementation of the MTR,” said Mr Rene Meza, the Airtel managing director.

It was Airtel’s backing for the planned cuts in cross-network charges and Safaricom’s bid to freeze the charges at the current level that sparked a vicious war in the industry that went to the Prime Minister’s office for mediation.

The PM, Mr Raila Odinga, then formed a committee of industry experts to look into the matter but President Kibaki moved ahead of the plan to officially release the findings Tuesday.

The Office of the Prime Minister said the findings will be released next week but it was not clear whether the report has taken into account the presidential directive.