This archive report was first published on 23 October 2019.
October 23, 2019, marked a significant milestone for Safaricom, Kenya's largest telecom company, as it celebrated its 19th birthday. To commemorate this occasion, Safaricom made a bold move by introducing non-expiring data bundles, a first in the Kenyan market.
The new bundles, which can be accessed by dialing 544#, offer customers the option to purchase non-expiring data, voice, and SMS bundles. This move is seen as a response to growing customer demand for more flexible and convenient data plans.
While expiring bundles will still be available, the non-expiring bundles offer customers more control over their data usage and provide a more predictable experience. However, the pricing of the non-expiring bundles is not clearly defined, leaving customers to guess how much data they will get for their money.
Additionally, Safaricom has also introduced a new feature that allows customers to purchase data bundles without having to worry about airtime. However, this feature has already been patched due to a glitch that allowed customers to purchase data worth up to KES 100,000,000 without having airtime.
With this move, Safaricom is aiming to improve its revenue in the data segment, which has been growing at a slower rate compared to other areas of its business. The company's full-year results for 2019 showed that mobile data revenue growth was only 6.2%, compared to 19.2% growth in M-Pesa revenue.
As Safaricom continues to innovate and improve its services, it remains to be seen how other telcos in the market will respond to this new development. Will they follow suit and introduce their own non-expiring bundles, or will they stick to their traditional expiring bundles? Only time will tell.
