Turf wars eat into AccessKenya’s half-year profits

None has a market share in excess of 15 per cent, with pressure on Access Kenya coming from KDN, Swift Global and Safaricom.

“The data and network market is getting really tight with offers coming from everywhere and prices going down so quick. There has to be more on the table for clients,” says an analyst on condition of anonymity.

Analysts say that AccessKenya is yet to derive the full benefits of the fibre optic cable the firm laid out, most of which is concentrated in Nairobi.

Last year, the company invested Sh1billion in increasing its capacity.

According to Mr Somen, the cash outlay went into the completion of the firm’s Wimax network, the TEAMs fibre optic cable, and the firm’s massive fibre rollout within Nairobi.

It is this investment in added capacity that AccessKenya sees as a crucial competitive edge going ahead.

The company paid Sh150 million for a 70 per cent stake in Openview in 2007, but later bought the remaining 30 per cent for Sh18 million this year — a signal that the firm overpaid for the 70 per cent stake was is now valued at about Sh42 million.