Speaking at a briefing after the recent annual general meeting, Safaricom’s chief executive Bob Collymore noted that price controls do not address the issues of the consumer and that the telco has always been open to sharing its infrastructure.
The mobile operator’s competitor Airtel Kenya has advocated for the regulation of the telco sector which is dominated by one player thereby denying the consumers the power to choose.
“We feel that a declaration of dominance will facilitate full implementation of the much-needed remedies by the Communication Authority as empowered by the law,” Airtel said in a report submitted to Parliament’s Committee on Communication, Information, and Innovation.
The Communications Authority of Kenya has proposed regulations requiring Safaricom to share its infrastructure and mobile money agents with its competitors.
“We hope we will be consulted when regulations are being made,” the Safaricom Group chair Nicholas Nganga said.
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Addressing Data Bundle Depletion
Safaricom customers have been complaining of the fact that data bundles deplete too fast and the telco will address this issue in the coming weeks by giving consumers control over their preferred internet speeds.
“We have received numerous complaints from our customers that their data is being depleted too fast giving them a bad experience. My commitment to our customers going forward is that we will deliver a more transparent and user-friendly data experience,” said Collymore.
“The measures will also include notifying customers of any abnormal spikes in data usage, which often occur during auto updates of apps and software, streaming and archiving of multimedia content. In cases where this fails and a customer’s data is depleted unexpectedly, Safaricom will reimburse customer’s data bundle,” Safaricom said in a statement.
Upcoming Services and Products
With regards to future plans, Collymore said the company will bring its e-commerce marketplace to small vendors through Masoko Fresh, an initiative that will support the delivery of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. One of company’s partners in this project is Kenyan retailer, Beyond Fruits.
The company is also targeting 20 million farmers through its initiative Digifarm to support smallholder farmers. So far, the company has signed up one million farmers who can now access funds and inputs thereby improving their lives. DigiFarm was launched in October last year.
In the coming months, the telco also plans to structure its pricing and to extend the storo bonus program to its data services.
