Mobile subscription rises in Kenya due to Covid-19 restrictions

NAIROBI - Mobile penetration shot up significantly between April and June, a new data by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) shows.

During the quarter under review, there were 1.8 million net additions in mobile SIM subscriptions. The significant growth is attributed to consumers taking advantage of various products such as SMS and data promotion/ tariffs.

According to analysis by the industry regulator, the directive by the Government on the use of cashless payment systems to contain Covid-19 pandemic and the attendant waiver of transaction costs for amounts equal to or less than Sh1,000 also played a key role.

Total net additions for the fiscal year stood at 4.8 million.

During the fourth quarter, Safaricom (a key player in the industry) lost 0.3 percentage points in market shares to post 64.2 percent share in mobile subscriptions.

Airtel Networks and Telkom Kenya on the other hand gained by an equal margin of 0.2 percentage points to record 26.8 percent and 6.0 percent shares respectively.

Equitel registered the least market share of 3.0 percent after losing 0.1 percentage points.

The data from the Communications Authority of Kenya also indicates Safaricom’s fixed data customers jumped 25 percent between March and June 2020 to stand at 207, 398, giving the firm a 33.5 per cent market share.

Zuku saw a 15 per cent increase in subscribers between March and June to stand at 201, 605, translating to 32.5 per cent of the market. – THE STANDARD, Kenya.