After allegations that it neglected to pay American Tower Corporation (ATC) Ksh. 200 million in rental costs for 723 masts, Telkom Kenya, the third-largest telecom provider in the nation, has been plagued by service outages and complaints from customers.

Ironically, Telkom Kenya sold the exact same masts that they had originally held to ATC with the purpose of saving operating expenses by leasing them back.

According to reports, ATC turned off half of the masts Telkom had rented out, and this tower blackout has now disrupted the Telkom network.

The business is aggressively involving all stakeholders in restoring the disrupted services as quickly as possible, according to Telkom Kenya CEO Mugo Kibati.

He said that Telkom and its partners are also examining the short- to long-term imperatives of strategy that would enhance and ensure the delivery of these goods and services to its respected clients.

However, since the telecom manages certain crucial Government infrastructure, industry analysts argue that the government must take steps to prevent Telkom from failing.

According to sector analyst Amit Vithlani, "The state needs to secure Telkom's future since they manage crucial infrastructure like the fibre optics. Additionally, given that it is a government organisational structure, it may be in charge of additional military locations.

Additionally, according to Amit, before funding Telkom, the government may need to deal with underlying structural issues.

"This ought to be resolved before additional funding is put in," he continued, "looking at the simple fact they've sold the communication towers along with a portion of the land they possessed to redevelop its network completely and that this has not materialised."

This occurs when the government is looking for a strategic investor to bail out Telkom Kenya after acquiring the company last year to lower the danger of important government data being spied on.

To pay off the telco's debt, the government of Kenya is asking for Ksh 7.2 billion from public coffers.

Even though the government acquired a 60% interest in Helios Investment Company, Telkom Kenya's finances are still in the negative.