MOBILE subscriptions in Kenya went up 2.7% to hit 19.9 million in the first quarter of 2010, compared to 19.4 million in the previous quarter.
Mobile penetration reached 51% in the first quarter of the year.
In statistics released by the industry’s regulator, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), the population under mobile coverage stood at 86%, against a land coverage of 35%.
In a press statement CCK attributed the rise in the number of mobile subscriptions to multiple SIM ownership, and the increase in service providers offering attractive promotions.
It said that the number of prepaid subscriptions grew during the quarter under review by 2.6% compared to a 7.2% growth in the number of postpaid subscriptions.
“This is consistent with the trends in developing countries where the prepaid service is preferred due to the ease and convenience of subscription compared to the postpaid which has requirements that are not within the reach of the majority of the population,” the statement said.
CCK said that during the first quarter, tariffs fell as a result of a more competitive operating landscape with operators jostling to acquire and retain subscribers by offering various incentives.
Charges within the same network were recorded at Sh5 per minute compared to Sh5.66 per minute in the last quarter.
During the quarter, the fall in tariffs led to subscribers making longer calls, resulting in the time spent on calls rising by 20% to 5.1 million minutes.
The regulator said that there was also a 33.5% increase in internet subscribers standing at 2.7 million users, which CCK attributes to innovative offerings such as connectivity to social networking sites through mobile phones. Ninety-nine percent of internet subscriptions between January and March this year were through mobile phones.
The statistics come in the wake of intense mobile telephony wars that have erupted in the last few days with the two main rivals, Zain and Safaricom, slashing their call rates with a view to controlling the emerging telephony market and wooing more subscribers.
