Wednesday, September 14, 2011

KDN HOLDING STATEMENT





KDN wishes to set the record straight without discussing the merits of the dispute which is still pending before court as follows:

KDN, the leading Telecommunication Infrastructure Company, entered into a Network Expansion Agreement dated 27th September 2007 with Soliton.

A dispute arose between the parties regarding payment for work claimed to have been performed by Soliton. KDN and Soliton agreed to a joint audit of the work done, the first of which was commenced on the Thika Garissa Mombasa Route. The joint report dated 31st August 2010 indicated that significant aspects of the work had not been performed. Thereafter, Soliton withdrew from reconciliation of accounts and, in pursuit of its claims, filed the present Winding Up Petition on 18th October 2010 against KDN.

On 3rd November 2010, KDN filed an application to stay the hearing of the Winding Up Petition, and refer the dispute to arbitration as provided in the Network Expansion Agreement. The court ordered a stay until KDN’s application was heard and determined. On 30th august 2011, after hearing the parties, the Court surprisingly dismissed the application, and ruled that the Winding Up Petition should proceed to hearing.

KDN immediately applied for an order of stay pending appeal to the Court of Appeal, principally on   two grounds:

a)    The dispute should have been referred to arbitration as the contract between the parties provided for dispute resolution through arbitration. 

b)    The alleged debt remains disputed on substantial grounds, with both claiming against each other.

The High Court ordered a stay of its orders for 30 days on condition that KDN deposits a sum of Kshs. 400 million in a joint income account to be controlled and operated by the two counsels on record.

KDN has, on 8th September 2011, since filed a Notice of Appeal and an application under certificate of urgency for Orders of Stay pending the filing, hearing and determination of the intended appeal from the Ruling of the High Court.

KDN remains the largest private data carrier and infrastructure provider in the country with a turnover running into Kshs. 4 Billion as at the last financial year.  It operates a combination of microwave radio and fiber optical links, and houses and maintains a number of international internet gateways. 
KDN unveiled a multimillion dollar Data Centre on 6th September which is an indicator of the financial health of the company and a statement of commitment and participation to the Kenyan telecom industry.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Kenya Data Networks Opens State of the Art Data Centre for Corporate Clients

KDN’s, Data Centre Manager Mr. Johan Badenhorst (left) and KDN Chief Commercial Officer Atul Chaturvedi,(right) cut the ribbon during the  unveil of the state of the art Data Centre.

Nairobi Kenya September 6, 2011 – Leading telecommunications infrastructure provider, Kenya Data Networks (KDN) has announced the completion of their state - of - the art Data Centre to be used for hosting data and software applications. The data Centre, which is now ready for occupation, is a unique facility offering reliability and convenience for corporate clients and financial institutions looking for international standards.
Announcing the completion, KDN Chief Executive Officer Mr. Rikus Matthyser said the center was designed with typical KDN customer in mind and offers world-class services while guaranteeing safety of the data stored in it.
“This Data Center is testament to our commitment to provide world class services in the field of ICT in this part of the world. The unique facility will enable our clients achieve their business objectives while cutting down on their overheads in telecommunications and data storage infrastructure,” said Mr. Matthyser.
The Data Centre, which is located at the newly completed Sameer Business Park along Mombasa Road, is set to alter the landscape in the data business in the wake of rising demand for data solutions and storage.
“As KDN, we are committed to providing convenient service through innovative products in telecoms in the region and are looking to develop our clients’ efficiency.The center is a facility set up to provide physical environment that will ensure the day-to-day running of various communication equipment and application systems with a main objective of ensuring availability levels meet clients expectations at an affordable cost,” Mr. Matthyser said.
The CEO noted that center is targeted at a global market focusing mainly on offer of hosting services to clients in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and also International Telecoms with need for Point of Presence solution.
KDN’s, Data Center Manager Mr. Johan Badenhorst, remarking during the launch said the Data Center would provide physical space for use by customers’ with hardware equipment that provide communication and application services to end-users.

Mr. Badenhorst said: “The product Scope is limited to providing physical space; Server room floor/rackspace, Sufficient Dual Input Power, Elaborate Security system and sufficient- Computer Room Air Conditioning.”

“The Data center is offered as a ready to use server room space with adequate and redundant power, cooling, fire suppression to ensure full time operation of communication equipments that run critical services to the end-users,” Mr. Badenhorst added.