Safaricom, Kenya’s leading communications company have said it will not re-engage itself in the emerging price wars.
“We are seeing a replay of history which is incredible. We are seeing a new price war coming,” Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore told reporters in Nairobi.
“If you can start charging people those kinds of low prices, you are not going to be able to invest in the industry. That is going to cost you problems at some point,” remarked Collymore.
We are not going to move our prices. We have to maintain a sustainable business,” affirmed the Safaricom CEO.
Read: ‘I’m Back’ Bob Collymore Safaricom CEO
Airtel Kenya has reduced the cost of making a call to KSh2 per minute across all networks.
This new tariff with a 50 per cent saving for on-net and off-net calls with #NoConditions, allows our subscribers to enjoy making calls for a longer duration. pic.twitter.com/GGFHhl8Mvf— Airtel Kenya (@AIRTEL_KE) August 8, 2018
Safaricom customers call at KSh4 per minute both on-net and off-net. However, customers on Uwezo tariff make calls across networks at KSh2 per minute between 99pm and 8am.
Telkom Kenya charges its customers KSh2 a minute to make calls on-net and Sh3 per minute to other networks.
In 2010, Airtel then operating as Zain cut its calling rates by 75 percent.
Related:
- Do not Punish Success, Safaricom on Market Dominance
- What Next for Safaricom as Dominance Debate Rages on in the Telco Sector?
According to Safaricom’s FY18 results, Voice service (incoming and outgoing) revenue grew by 3.6 percent to Kshs 47.35bn. “Improving our network quality remains key and we continue with our efforts to increase network coverage, capacity and quality to ensure excellent performance and superior customer experience,” part of the results statement read.
Third Quarter Sector Statistics Report for the Financial Year 2017/2018 (January-March 2018), by the Communications Authority of Kenya noted a significant growth in total mobile voice traffic by 8.2 percent.
However, during the period under review, voice minutes for Safaricom PLC declined by 0.9 percent leading to a drop in its market share by 6.0 percentage points to stand at 66.5 percent during the quarter.
Airtel Kenya posted an increase of 6.7 percent attributed to the additional 1.3 million mobile subscriptions gained by the operator during the period under review.
On the other hand, Telkom Kenya Limited recorded a decline of 0.6 percentage points.
