Celtel Introduces Competitive Tariffs
Celtel Kenya has introduced new tariff structures that make the regional mobile network’s rates the cheapest in the country.
The new reduced mobile phone charges in the market are convenient, affordable and allow Celtel subscribers to call within the network and across other networks at standard rates.
The new per second tariffs, whose introduction coincided with Kenya’s 43 rd Jamhuri Day celebrations are all referred to as ‘Uhuru’ and come in two categories, Umoja and Jamii.
The new tariffs come in the wake of the recently launched ‘One Network’ by Celtel which allows Celtel subscribers in East Africa make calls in all the three countries at normal rates.
The harmonised tariff allows subscribers within the Celtel network to pay local rates for roaming services within the region and enables clients to top up their accounts anywhere within the region.
Under the new tariffs, customers who chose to go for Umoja tariff (which is a flat RATE tariff) will only pay Ksh16 to call any network including local fixed lines and the billing will be per second, while those who pick the Jamii tariff (which is an off-peak biased tariff) will be charged Ksh12 per minute to call any network at off-peak hours while during peak hours, they will be billed at Ksh24 per minute.
The move by Celtel Kenya, which makes the network’s tariffs the most competitive in the regional market, was driven by the marked demand by its customers to interconnect with other networks at reasonable prices.
Announcing the new tariff structures, Celtel Kenya’s corporate and regulatory affairs director, Clare Ruto, said the new billing system would help customers call within and across other networks at a reduced price without limiting them to wait for specific hours.
“We have continuously reduced our interconnection charges to other networks to reach our customers yet those networks have not passed on that to their consumers. Kenyans are still restricted to calling within certain networks at certain times,” said Ruto.
She said with call termination between operators being levied at less than Ksh10, there was no justification for Kenyans to be charged as much as five times more to call their colleagues across other networks.
Ruto said the tariffs are the most competitive in the market.
Celtel Kenya chief commercial officer, Mr Michael Dabaly, said the rationale behind the new tariff structure was to give customers freedom to make calls across the networks without price discrimination.
Dabaly said his company is the first to pass on reduced interconnection charges in the region, a move that would see Celtel double its subscriber base by 15% every month.
Celtel has a subscriber base of over 2 million in the country and it is expected to increase next year when the company rolls out new product services to the market.
Source- allafrica Wireless Mobile Telecom
