Telkom Kenya has launched a Sh1,500 monthly mobile data package that will allow subscribers to share the Internet with up to five other consumers in the latest push to grow revenues.
A subscriber will get 100GB of mobile data and set up a group of between three to five consumers to enjoy the package dubbed Changa Bundle.
The package is only applicable to prepaid subscribers and marks Telkom's efforts to ramp up revenues from the local mobile data services market and step up competition on Safaricom and Airtel Kenya.
“Telkom, guided by our belief that mobile data is a fundamental human right, proceeded to create a bundle that speaks to the mind of the Kenyan consumer, giving them the ability to acquire a large bundle with more resources that they can share with family and friends,” Telkom marketing director Eric Achola said at the launch of the telco’s latest data package.
Consumers will also get 200 on-net and 50 off-net minutes under the Changa Bundle package that was launched yesterday.
Telkom Kenya had a 4.6 percent market share in mobile data as of June last year, behind Airtel Kenya at 26.6 percent and market leader, Safaricom that had 68 percent highlighting Telkom’s push to narrow the gap and tap into the fast-growing demand for Internet.
Telkom just like Safaricom and Airtel Kenya is banking on data to boost revenues and push it to profitability.
The data business is now a critical plank in efforts the telco’s efforts to ramp up businesses given the saturated voice market and the 99.9 percent market control held by M-Pesa in the mobile money.
The Changa Bundle package will not be available on Saturday and Sunday and the bundles will be valid for 30 days, without the option of rolling them over to the following month.
The package comes less than six months after the telco disclosed plans to increase its 4G network sites by more than four times to 2,590 over the next two years, upping the battle on Safaricom for a larger share of the fast-growing data business.
An increase of the 4G network sites at a cost of Sh11.7 billion ($100 million) will be done in partnership with Swedish-based infrastructure provider, Ericsson and South Africa- based systems integrator NEC XON.
The investment will also scale up 80 percent of Telkom’s network to 4G to compete with other service providers.
