Race to supply Internet mobile phones intensifies

CCK attributes the increase in the number of Internet users to innovative offerings such as connectivity to social networking sites through the mobile phones, a service that has gained popularity among young people in the country.

The deal between the telecommunication companies and the handsets vendors come in a number of ways, a telecommunication operator can be approached by a firm to offer it data services through a range of mobile handsets which will force it to look for the best option available in the market as in the case of the IIEC or they can enter into agreement where the handset vendor supplies the operator with locked handsets, which means the buyer cannot use any SIM card from other operators on the handset.

Mr Antony Hutia, sales and marketing manager Mobile division, says the company is currently in a deal with Safaricom, but still negotiating with Zain Kenya to supply it with low-end data enabled handsets.

“The competition is stiffer and the strategy we are using currently is to offer a phone with as many features as possible at low retail prices,” said Mr Hutia.

“The operators are not going to take just any other phone, which dictates that before we approach them we must do serious marketing on the particular handsets and our brand such that the consumers will have some information about it.”

Mobicom, Telkom’s Kenya largest dealer on the other hand has entered into a deal with Nokia, Motorola and Samsung where it is offering free data-enabled handsets for anyone buying its airtime worth Sh1,000.

Safaricom chief commercial officer Peter Arina said the quest for increased data penetration and usage in Kenya has always been constrained by lack of data-enabled devices.