Welcome Bharti and CCk said let there be competition

So CCK (Communications Commission of Kenya) has come to its senses and now ready to cut licensing  fees for the 3G to $10 million.  According  Business Daily, it is still a bit of rumors but there is expected official announcement before the end of the week.  Yeah it is now making sense, the bold declaration by Zain that they will deploy 3G by July, that is next month, the word that Orange is already testing 3G and mmmmh Yu, by the way  are they doing anything?

Whatever any of them does, what most people want is faster internet at affordable cost. It is all about data data and data, get a way of providing it at a reasonable fee and be assured that you will get many fans in Kenya. And that is why i am loving Orange Kenya since they introduced their offer of ksh.990 for unlimited seven days package. The speed  is not that crazy as you can see on the following picture but it is serving me very well.

Orange Speedtest
Orange Speedtest

Among others i can watch YouTube videos, i was able to watch Safaricoms Sevens live uninterrupted , and above it all the network is stable

Welcome Bharti

Good riddence Bharti concluded Zain deal yesterday making it the largest ever cross-border deal in emerging markets and will result in combined revenues of over $12.4 billion and EBITDA of over $ 4.7 billion, based on the last audited results.  I hope this the last time this thing which started as Kencel then moved to Celtel, then Zain and now i don’t know how they will call it is changing hands.

That a side  Bharti people are saying all the right things, let just say great music to the ears. They have  promised affordable services, deeper coverage, and superior brand experience. Probably we have already seeing some action in the form of the new tariff Jikonnect and double the  airtime promotion.

“Bharti, which has been working towards its vision of expansion into Africa, is committed to contributing to the growth of telecom in the region by taking networks deep into these countries and providing affordable services that touch the common man,” said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti.

Safaricom be very Afraid

Much has been said about Safaricom and their dodgy ways but give it to them when come to being creative. Michael Joseph Studied Kenyan market very well and since then  Safaricom has taken different innovative steps which have left their rivals confused or simply copying them. But there is that feeling that things are about to change. At the moment Safaricom is far a head of the pack and nobody should hit the panic button but from observer point of view, the time ahead is going to be interesting to watch. CCK action of lowering the licensing fees of 3G if it is true and the number portability which is expected to be a reality  from July would level the playing field for all the operators. And then there is Bharti factor. In a meeting with HSBC Securities and Capital Markets, the Bharti management stressed on exploring usage elasticity and low penetration of around 36 percent across Zain’s Africa operations as the key focus areas. Usage elasticity refers to the scope for improving traffic on a network. It will be interesting to see the famous minute factory model which they are expected to try to replicate in Africa combined with low cost structure.

Kennedy Kachwanya1087 Posts

--- Kennedy Kachwanya is a technology blogger interested in mobile phones both smart and dumb, mobile apps, mobile money, social media, startups ecosystem and digital Savannah. New media must not forget the strength of old tech.

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