In the world of telecommunications, billing models are more than just a way to collect payments, they shape how we use the internet, influence our daily habits, and even affect the bottom line for both users and providers. Safaricom is set to shift its internet billing from quantity-based (MBs) to time-based usage. In other words, a switch from charging subscribers based on how many megabytes or gigabytes they consume to billing them for the minutes or hours they are connected to their network.
I had expected this switch for a while now based on the fact that there has been huge discussion around the world about network congestion management. While the most modern plans are data-centric, the emerging issues point to the need to shift back to a system that was used before, especially during the dial-up era, and it seems Safaricom is taking the first plunge.
In this post, we’ll break down the two billing methods, explore why Safaricom is preparing to make this change, and dive into the impacts on users and costs.
Understanding Quantity-Based Billing (MBs/GBs)
Quantity-based billing, also known as data-volume or usage-based billing, is the dominant model in today’s telecom landscape. It is what Safaricom has been using on its broadband internet.
Here’s how it works: You’re charged based on the amount of data you upload or download, measured in megabytes (MBs) or gigabytes (GBs). This includes everything from streaming videos to browsing social media. When you look closely at how Safaricom structured its billing, it is more of a mix than purely quantity-based, though at the end it is about quantity of usage and not time.
Common Features: Safaricom plans come with data caps, daily data bundles, weekly data bundles, monthly data bundles (e.g., 10GB per month for Ksh.1000). Once exhausted, then the users have to buy a new bundle or use extra add-ons like WhatsApp only until the end of the period.
– Pros for Users: It rewards efficient usage, light users pay less, and when you switch your data off or when you offload to Wi-Fi, you are able to save data. But since there is data expiry after the given period, the saving is only within the given period, like you can only save data on the monthly data plan within the month.
The data expiry thing is the reason why I think the shift by Safaricom from quantity-based to purely time-based usage is going to be great and big for the users.
Understanding Time-Based Billing
Time-based billing harks back to the dial-up era but could see a revival in niche scenarios. It focuses on duration rather than volume:
Charges are based on how long users are connected to the network, often in minutes or hours, regardless of data transferred. Idle time counts, but quick downloads don’t rack up extra costs. I suspect Safaricom will maintain the current plans of hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly with the time being the unit of measure and not the quantity.
-Pros for Users: Great for heavy users, high-data tasks like downloading files rapidly without worrying about volume limits.
While data-based has overshadowed it over the years, time-based could address specific challenges like network congestion during peak hours for the telcos like Safaricom .
Why is Safaricom shifting to Time-Based Usage?
Just like they did from per-minute to per-second billing in their battle with Airtel, which was known as Kencell then, I suspect Safaricom is pulling a fast one on Airtel again. But looking at it broadly, the pressures from the huge data demands by AI, IoT, and 5G has been the driving factor for most telcos that are considering a shift and I suspect Safaricom is no different.
The following are some of the reasons why most telcos are considering a shift:
– Congestion Control: Time-based encourages shorter sessions, freeing up bandwidth during busy periods.
– Simpler Operations: Easier to track time than variable data, potentially reducing billing disputes.
– Revenue Diversification: In saturated markets, it could appeal to users frustrated with data caps.
– Sustainability: Aligns with eco-friendly goals by discouraging prolonged, low-activity connections that waste energy.
The cost Factor:
It is hard to discuss the cost until we see the offers from Safaricom, so I will reserve much of this part of the discussion to after the launch by Safaricom. What we can say for now is that the quantity data models suit light users while time-based could promote mindful connectivity in an overloaded network era.
