Short text messages (SMSs) sent in the three months to December fell for the third consecutive quarter as subscribers opted for offers on calls and mobile data to cut costs.
Communications Authority (CA) data shows that SMSs sent in the period fell to 14.2 billion, a 16.5 percent decline from 16.98 billion texts sent in September.
Safaricom #ticker:SCOM posted the biggest fall as its subscribers sent 13.07 billion SMSs, a fall of 18 per cent from 15.99 billion in September.
CA attributed the decline to Safaricom’s offer on calls and mobile data that saw subscribers shun SMS for the cheap calling rates and WhatsApp-based calls and texts in a bid to cut costs amid the coronavirus-induced economic hardships.
“The drop is a result of reduction in SMS bundle usage with many customers preferring to take advantage of the available voice and data offers instead, from the Safaricom@20 promotion,” CA said in the report.
The offer ran for a month from October 27 and allowed Safaricom subscribers to purchase 20 minutes of talk-time and 20MBs for Sh20 (megabytes) that were valid for 24 hours.
SMSs are a cheaper and more convenient means of reaching out to people in remote areas compared to calls, making the service more appealing.
The drop in SMSs sent by Safaricom subscribers cut its share of the text market to 92.2 per cent from 94.1 per cent as its rival Airtel gained in the period under review.
Airtel recorded a 13.7 per cent rise as its subscribers sent 1.02 billion SMSs in the period under review from 897.6 million in September.
While Safaricom recorded a decline in its dominance of the texts market, the telco cemented its control of the voice market on the back of the offer on calls and mobile data.
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