Telecommunications giant; Safaricom has now slashed the rates for its monthly bundle packages for mobile data, Short Message Services (SMS), and minutes by almost as much as five (5) percent. The move is believed to have been done as a way to further increase its dominance as the rivalry with its competitor; Airtel, continues to increase.
Safaricom made it known that it will be reducing the cost of the bundle which comes with 1,000 minutes, 15 Gigabytes (GB) of internet data and 2,000 Short Message Services (SMS) by as much as 4.7 percent to 2,000 Kenyan Shillings. This will make it its largest cut for five (5) of its packages that last for thirty (30) days.
Airtel Kenya which is a subsidiary of Airtel Africa (owned by Bharti Airtel) currently provides its users with a bundle package consisting of 700 minutes, mobile data of 7 Gigabytes (GB) and 2,000 Short Message Services (SMS) for 1,050 Kenyan Shillings per month.
Integrated telecommunications provider; Telkom Kenya, has a monthly bundle package which provides users with 12 (GB) of internet data and free WhatsApp for 1,000 Kenyan Shillings per month.
The tariff review carried out by Safaricom is occurring at a time when Airtel Kenya has been steadily gaining ground on its largest competitor especially in the voice service market. Airtel Kenya has also been able to increase its market share to record heights while also taking a chunk of market leader; Safaricom’s market share, bringing it to a two (2) year low.
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The revised rates for Safaricom’s minutes, internet data, and Short Message Services (SMS) monthly bundle packages is expected to provide the telecommunications giant with a much needed advantage in its competitive back and forth with Airtel as both companies continue to push for revenue growth and user growth.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Safaricom; Peter Ndegwa stated that, “By consolidating our monthly plans, we seek to simplify our product offering while enabling our customers to enjoy a digital lifestyle in an affordable manner.”
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Data revealed from the Communications Authority (CA) made it known that telecommunication users used a total of 12.14 billion minutes on Safaricom’s network in the three (3) months that ended in September of 2022. This signifies a 4.36 percent decline from the 12.69 billion minutes that was the case in the three (3) months that ended in June of 2022.
For Airtel Kenya its users utilized a total of 6.36 billion minutes in the three (3) months ending in September of 2022. This marked a 3.8 percent increase from the 6.13 billion minutes used in the three (3) months ending in June of 2022.
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For Telkom Kenya its users, used a total of 370.57 minutes in the same three (3) months ending in September of 2022 period up from the 341.4 million minutes used by its subscribers in the three (3) months ending in June of 2022.
In July of 2021 Safaricom increased the cost of its monthly bundled packages after an increase in Kenya’s excise tax on calls and airtime to twenty (20) percent from fifteen (15) percent.
Its monthly package that provides subscribers with 400 minutes, 5 Gigabytes (GB) and 1,000 Short Message Services (SMS) has a 4.7 percent drop in costs to now stand at 1,000 Kenyan Shillings per month.
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The monthly package offering subscribers 1,500 minutes, 25 Gigabytes (GB) and 3,000 Short Message Services (SMS) now costs 3,000 Kenyan Shillings per month after a 4.7 percent drop as well.
The bundled packages by Safaricom also provide users with free YouTube and WhatsApp during the duration of said packages. It is expected that new users could join the network with the new occurrences.
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According to observers Safaricom hopes that the reduced rates will help it gain back more market share in the super competitive telecommunications space.
The pricing wars among telecommunications companies in Kenya, has resulted in their millions of subscribers enjoying the numerous benefits in the form of reduced prices, transfer charges, special offers like free minutes and mobile data.
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