[kictanet] Tanzania first to lower internet rates? huh?

Sun Nov 1 02:53:33 EAT 2009

Telkom Kenya raises stakes in data market with Sh1 per MB plan
Telkom Kenya on Wednesday revised its Internet charges downwards,  
raising the stakes in the battle for control of the data market which  
is expected to be the next frontier of revenue growth for telecoms  
firms.  Subscribers will pay Sh1 per megabyte (MB), one of the lowest  
Internet tariffs currently on offer from a telecom firm.

Previously, the company charged from Sh2 or more per MB depending on  
the Internet bundle a customer opted for.  The Sh1 per MB rate will  
will apply for buyers of the 4 gigabyte (GB) bundle which will be  
priced at Sh3,900.

Other providers of low-cost Internet are Access Kenya, which charges  
Sh1 per MB for its home Internet services. Mickael Ghossein, CEO  
Telkom Kenya, said the price cut is meant to reposition the company in  
the data market in which it was a key player before the liberalisation  
of the ICT sector ushered in competition that has since eaten into the  
firm’s market share.

Rival mobile operators have reacted to Telkom’s move by acknowledging  
the increase in competition in the sector.  “Of course we expect a lot  
of competition and tariffs will have to fall to reflect this. In the  
long run, however, you have to consider the issue of customer  
experience and you also need a critical subscriber base to create a  
sustainable business model,” said Chris Tiffin, Safaricom’s Chief  
Financial Officer.

Telkom is targeting both corporate and individual clients with the  
reduced prices.

The regulatory stance taken by the government recently may also lead  
to a reduction in revenues gleaned for the voice market. Last month,  
prime minister Raila Odinga ordered a review of mobile call charges  
saying they were too high and not a true reflection of international  
trends.

As Telkom was announcing its new charges, Safaricom and Equity bank  
were also unveiling a partnership in which the bank will offer loans  
to the public for the purchase of laptops while the mobile phone  
operator will supply Internet modems to the laptop owners.
(Source: Business Daily)

On 31 Oct 2009, at 04:01, kai wulff wrote:

> And I get complaints about the charges in Kenya …
>
> There is another confusion ..
>
> Some people confuse packages (like 1GBYTE) with throughput like  
> 1Mbps …
>
> If you have 1Mbps duplex you can receive:
>
> 1 Megabyte in 8 seconds
>
> 7.5 Megabyte in a minute
>
> 450 Megabyte in an hour
>
> 10800 Megabyte in a day
>
> 326700 Megabyte (319 Gigabyte) in a month (30.25 days)
>
> Since you can send the same amount you could have a volume of 638  
> Gigabyte with a 1Mbps pipe …
>
> So if you take 1Mbps at 600 USD you will arrive for a package of  
> 10Gigabyte at less than 1 USD …..
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Von: kictanet-bounces+kai.wulff=kdn.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke  
> [mailto:kictanet-bounces+kai.wulff=kdn.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke]  
> Im Auftrag von Brian Munyao Longwe
> Gesendet: Saturday, October 31, 2009 10:47
> An: kai.wulff at kdn.co.ke
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
> Betreff: [kictanet] Tanzania first to lower internet rates? huh?
>
> TTCL drops pricing to 1MB for $2415/month? and that is low? Read  
> on.....
>
> First East African country to lower internet rates? hmmmm.....
> Tanzania First to Lower Internet Rates
>
> Tanzania Telecommunication Company Ltd customers will from this  
> month enjoy a 50 per cent cut in Internet charges, making Tanzania  
> the first East African country to lower Internet charges. TTCL chief  
> executive officer Said Amour Said, told The EastAfrican that the  
> lowering of charges follows the firm's connecting to the Seacom  
> submarine fibre optic cable.
>
> "TTCL has reduced its Internet prices effective from October 1, in  
> order to pass on this cost saving benefit to the end users, and the  
> high customer expectations of reduced costs on Internet services  
> have finally been met," he said.
>
> The new prices will see high volume Internet users including banks,  
> large businesses and corporations, government agencies and other  
> institutions enjoying a substantial Internet bandwidth cost  
> reduction as customers will get the same capacity of bandwidth at a  
> third the current prices.
>
> Under the new structure, a client who buys 1Mbps of Internet  
> capacity for Tsh9.2 million ($7,000) will now buy the same capacity  
> for just Tsh3.14 million ($2,415).
>
> For small and medium businesses like cyber cafes, the price has been  
> slashed by 50 per cent.
>
> According to Mr Said, customers who were buying 5GB for $200  
> (Tsh200,000) will now buy 10GB for the same amount of money, and  
> that all Internet subscribers in this category would continue to get  
> high speed of up to 4Mbps through their TTCL fixed lines.
>
> According to the new tariff, non-commercial ordinary clients will  
> enjoy a new package with unlimited use for a monthly price of  
> Tsh45,000 ($ 43) with a speed of up to 256Kbps.
>
> "It is an ideal service mostly for the common man because it is  
> affordable and guarantees continuous usage," explained Said.
>
> (Source: The East African)
>
>
>
> -- 
> Brian Munyao Longwe
> e-mail: blongwe at gmail.com
> cell:  + 254 722 518 744
> blog : http://zinjlog.blogspot.com
> meta-blog: http://mashilingi.blogspot.com
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Eric M.K Osiakwan
Director
Internet Research
www.internetresearch.com.gh
emko at internetresearch.com.gh
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