Airtel Kenya slashes modem prices in a rare promotional offer

Airtel Kenya’s managing director, Shivan Bhargava said the company is committed to offering its customers affordable, superior and quality communication service adding that the promotional offer serves as a show of the company’s proposition.

Speaking to HumanIPO, Airtel Kenya’s Dennis Shako said: “With the kind of cellphone service providers in the country, we have decided to come up with the offer in order to appreciate our customers and attract others. Also, our new product 3G Internet has to be marketed.”

Customers using Internet for various research purposes to satisfy their needs will enjoy the offer throughout the period the promotion runs. Shako was however reluctant to disclose the exact period the offer is expected to end.

“The offer will be available to the first people,” he said.

This seems to be a move to attract customers from other competitors, Safaricom, Yu and Orange.

Safaricom, 7.2Mbs modem costs KSh1,999.

The Yu modem retails at KSh2,599 a piece — inclusive of 1 month unlimited data plus monthly unlimited at KSh499 per month, for 11 subsequent months.

While Internet everywhere 3G is a modem data service by Orange, the 21.1 Mbps modem is KSh1,999, with one month free unlimited Internet.

A report from Kenya’s communications regulator, the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK), indicates a significant increase in the number of mobile data, or Internet, use — from 3.2 million to 4.7, which is attributed to growth in data 3G service at 46.7 percent.

The Internet and data is accounted at 99 percent through GPRS, EGDE and 3G.

Airtel has been in Kenya for the last decade. With its headquarters in India, the telecommunications company operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands.

It is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world with over 243.336 million customers across 20 countries, as of March 2012.