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It was a sigh of relief for consumers when Kenya’s leading telco Safaricom yesterday announced scrapping off ‘expiry dates’ on data bundles.

In the new strategy intended to hook customers to renewed commitment, the telco, which also turned 19, has now taken the scramble for market share a notch higher, having changed tack amid a suit over unused bundles.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the milestone, Michael Joseph, acting chief executive, Safaricom, said the new strategy leverages on the commitment of being simple, transparent and honest across all products and operations.

“As part of its efforts to simplify its products, the company has unveiled a new data plan and a new calling and SMS plan that will respectively offer data bundles and calling minutes with no expiry,” Michael Joseph, acting CEO, Safaricom said.

Without any reference to the law suit, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed firm said they will now dispense data bundles, calls and SMS without expiry on *544#.

New deal

Joseph said the firm saw a need to reevaluate operations to ensure that the company remains relevant to its customers into the future.

The new deal which is among a raft of goodies offered to customers during the anniversary celebration comes in the backdrop of a case filed by lawyer Adrian Kamotho, who is pushing for the Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal to stop both Safaricom and Airtel from depriving consumers unused data bundles.

In the complaint filed before the Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal, Adrian Kamotho sued the telcos for irregularly depriving consumers of their unused data bundles.

In the suit, the lawyer who is also an ICT practitioner said he was aggrieved by the high cost of data and frustrated by the arbitrary expiry of hard-earned bundles.

The changes will also enable customers to purchase both talk time and data bundles for any amount, starting as low as one shilling.

Customers can also see how much data MBs, minutes and SMS they will get before completing transactions.

“Today we are starting afresh and going forward we aim to be even more simple, transparent and honest in everything that we do. For our customers, we are a Safaricom that is there, for you,” said Joseph.

Safaricom also committed to serving its more than 33 million customers in less than five minutes both at its more than 50 Safaricom shops across the country and whenever they call the Call Centre.

The company will also reorganize its shops across the country to provide a more personalized experience to customers.

These developments will help Safaricom’s share in mobile subscribers which had fallen to 63.5 per cent in the full year ended June from last year’s 65.4 percent, in what was the lowest market share recorded in the recent past as Airtel gains customers.

Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) data also shows that although Safaricom has the highest number of subscribers, its voice market share and overall customer base has been shrinking over the years.

Line activation

Beginning from November 1, 2019, the new customers joining the network will get SIM cards for free at Safaricom shops and dealer outlets, upon which a customer will top up with Sh50 airtime to activate their line.

The company also increased its data bundle sizes under the new plan by more than 45 per cent especially for the more affordable price points of between Sh1 and Sh20. A customer purchasing Sh5 worth of bundles will now get 10 MB with no expiry up from 7 MB that would expire in 24 hours.