Mobile Data Usage Shifts in Q3 2012

The number of mobile subscribers accessing the internet through Telkom Kenya’s Orange network rose by 2.4% during the period between July and September 2012. This is according to quarterly statistics from industry regulator Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK).

During the quarter under review, Airtel and Telkom gained a market share of 1.1 percentage points and 2.4 percentage points, respectively. Safaricom experienced the highest reduction in the market share of 2.5 percentage points, followed by Essar (1.0 percentage points). The mobile data/Internet subscriptions by operator are shown in the table below.

[caption id="attachment_28983" align="alignnone" width="645"] Data source; CCK[/caption]

According to the Commission’s just released statistics for the July – September 2012 quarter, Orange’s data subscribers rose from 674,255 subscribers – accounting for 8.8% of the overall market share – in June 2012, to 948,847 subscribers, accounting for 11.2% of the market, by end of September 2012.

Commenting on the report Orange CEO Mickael Ghossein said: “We are proud to have achieved notable growth in mobile internet subscriptions. With our data service recognized as the best in the market, coupled with competitive deals to our customers on internet-enabled mobile devices and our unlimited data offer, our strategy is indeed working.”

Ghossein attributed the increase to marketing initiatives and promotions which saw subscribers purchase data-enabled devices including smartphones and modems at discounted prices.

In the period under review, Telkom Kenya – Orange saw a decline in its fixed internet subscriptions. Ghossein explained that the decline was due to a migration within the Orange network, that saw subscribers his was due to users migrating from fixed to mobile data adopt the company’s mobile data offerings.

“The growth in our mobile data usage demonstrates that we can keep the migration from fixed to mobile Internet in-house, with our superior mobile data offering,” said Mr. Ghossein.

Overall, the regulator’s report states that by September 30, 2012, there were 8.5 million internet subscriptions up from 7.7 million recorded in the previous period, representing an increase of 10.2 percent during the quarter and a 56.9 percent increase, relative to the same period in the previous year.

Mobile data/internet subscriptions rose to 8.4 million during the period under review from 7.6 million in the previous period, posting an increase of 10.2%. This increase was unanticipated in light of the shut-down of counterfeit handsets in the country. Over the period under review, the country’s mobile phone subscribers grew to over 30.4 million, translating to a mobile penetration rate of 77.2% countrywide.

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