Jamii Telecom has trained its eyes on expanding video consumption with the provision of affordable data to consumers.
The company’s chairman and managing director, Joshua Chepkwony, explains what informed the expansion into this new market segment and what consumers should expect from it.
Jamii Telecom, traditionally known in the Kenyan market as a provider of office and home Internet, has recently entered the mobile voice and data markets — becoming the fourth operator in that segment.
The firm, which has come with yet another pricing shocker for a market many thought had hit rock bottom, has trained its eyes on expanding video consumption with the provision of affordable data to consumers.
The Business Daily talked to the company’s chairman and managing director, Joshua Chepkwony, on what informed the expansion into this new market segment and what consumers should expect from it. Here are the excerpts:
JTL is best known to most Kenyan consumers for its Home and business Fibre Internet connection. How is that segment of the telecoms market evolving and what are latest developments in there?
That has been the most vibrant segment of the telecoms market in the past couple of years. The growth of video as the primary driver for Internet consumption means that the demand for bandwidth has grown exponentially.
We have met this demand by upgrading the capacity supplied to our customers five times at the same cost. Our minimum bandwidth offer was 5Mbps but that has now been upgraded to a minimum of 30Mbps.
The launch of Faiba4G has come at a time many thought Kenya’s mobile telecoms market was saturated with no room for new players. What opportunities did Jamii see in this market that convinced it to invest billions of shillings in it?
The opportunities came in the demand from our customers that we extend the good and affordable experience we have offered them through our fixed network on a mobile platform for an end-to-end ‘Faiba Experience’.
This demand increasingly became a business case with the growing acquisition of smart phones and the shift in consumer habits to accessing digital content on the go — not merely in the office and at home.
It was not practically viable to continue in this business and hope to grow while we remained out of the fastest-growing segment of the telecoms market. Jamii Telecom also continues to believe that there is plenty of room for innovation within the market such as the growth of Internet of Things (IoT) that will create new opportunities going forward. We can only seize the opportunities with the right infrastructure that covers the entire market coverage.
We have only this week seen one of the operators that is foreign-owned signal that they are looking for merger and acquisition opportunities because of various reasons – including its inability to break-even. What can we say is JTL’s commitment to the Kenyan market?
We are a wholly owned Kenyan company with unparalleled understanding of the local socio-economic realities that drive consumer behaviour and are focused on delivering value in that space. Our understanding is that this is a market of opportunity that we are happy to be in.
Many consumers are just now getting the understanding that Faiba4G runs on a different (LTE) network than its competitors. Why LTE and what sets it apart from the rest?
4G LTE (Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution) gives us the opportunity to deliver full Internet Protocol (IP)-based services to our customers and ensure the best quality of service (QoS). LTE enables us to deliver unparalleled high definition (HD) voice and video as no one else has attempted to deliver in this market. I am inviting consumers to get on to the Faiba4G network and test it.
What, in plain language, is JTL’s unique proposition to telecommunications services consumers in Kenya?
Quality service that is priced for their pockets. Our mission is break down cost barriers and democratise communication in Kenya because we believe this is what will create opportunities and drive our economy going forward. This is the reason we have, for instance, offered our customers with valid bundles, free voice calls on our network. This is the first and only true free voice service in Kenya.
That pricing of data and voice calls has indeed come as a surprise to many. Consumers are asking whether this is real and will last in the long term. what has made this possible and what consumers should expect in the long term?
This is not some marketing gimmick. Our offer of free on-network calls is real and is for life. That has been made possible by the efficiencies we have gained from our next generation networks and which we are passing on to our customers in the form of competitive pricing.
How widespread is your coverage so far and how soon should consumers expect you to get everyone covered?
We are currently in Nairobi and its environs, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisumu. The next phase, which starts in the first quarter of next year, will cover key towns such as Kericho, Kakamega, Kisii, Bungoma, Narok, Bomet, Nyeri, Embu, Meru and Kitale. We will then move to the next level until the entire country is covered.
One major challenge that competitors in the telecoms market have faced over time is the distribution of devices, and top-up scratch cards. How has JTL tackled this challenge to improve customer experience?
We have appointed very capable distributors, who will manage the distribution of devices and SIM cards. On top-up, our digital payment platform is universal and is capable of receiving money from any payment mechanism such as M-Pesa, Visa and online. This should assure customers of round-the-clock top-up.
Your pricing of bandwidth and voice calls goes a long way to bringing down barriers of entry to the mobile Internet market. What do you see as the possible outcomes of widespread consumption of the Internet among the population?
The Kenyan economy is turning digital at a very fast pace and so far most services can now be accessed online. With the coming of IoT and other Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, we expect Kenya to lead this shift on the African continent. This makes reliability and affordability of telecommunication services a key ingredient. This is what we, the service providers must focus on.
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