Safaricom Faces Criticism in Kenya

Safaricom, Kenya's largest telecommunications company, has been facing criticism in recent years. The company has been accused of charging exorbitant rates for its services.

Many Kenyans feel that Safaricom's prices are too high, especially for those living in rural areas. This criticism is not unfounded, as Safaricom's pricing strategy has been shown to be biased towards urban areas.

The company has also been criticized for its poor customer service. Many customers have reported long wait times and unhelpful responses from customer support.

Safaricom's dominance in the Kenyan market has also been a subject of criticism. The company's market share is over 70%, which has led to accusations of monopolistic practices.

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Safaricom's B-Live is a time-based data bundle that lets you browse the internet as much as you want for a set duration.

It's a block of time, not a specific amount of data, so you can use the internet freely without worrying about running out.

With B-Live, you can focus on your tasks without interruptions, giving you more choice and control over your internet usage.

B-Live is designed to give you non-stop browsing for a set duration, so you can work, stream, or browse without any data limits.

This initiative aims to make internet usage more flexible and convenient, allowing you to use the internet as much as you want within the given time frame.

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Safaricom offers a wide range of data plans to suit different needs and budgets. Currently, they have daily, hourly, weekly, and monthly plans from as low as KES 5, with add-ons such as SMS and WhatsApp access.

You can choose from monthly data bundles ranging between 25-40GB priced at KES 3,000. They also have 5G mobile bundles from 15GB-200GB, priced between KES 1,000 and 10,000.

For those who want to enjoy the internet without worrying about data limits, Safaricom has introduced three simple and affordable hourly bundles: Sh20 for 1 hour of non-stop browsing, Sh50 for 3 hours of non-stop browsing, and Sh150 for 6 hours of non-stop browsing.

Home Wi-Fi packages are also available, offering both capped plans (400GB-1.5TB) and unlimited speed-based packages (10Mbps-250Mbps) priced between KES 2,999 and 10,000.

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Safaricom is a dominant player in Kenya, holding at least 60% of the voice and messaging market.

The company's mobile money product, MPESA, controls a staggering 99% of the local money market.

Kenya is often referred to as a "Safaricom nation" due to the company's overwhelming presence.

Analysys Mason, a British consultancy firm, was hired by the CA to assess the carrier business and provide recommendations for leveling the playing field.

Their report suggested separating M-PESA from Safaricom, requiring the two businesses to operate in separate offices with separate staff, branding, and accounting.

The recommendations were never implemented, but the discussion has resurfaced after a Senate meeting that highlighted Safaricom's dominant position.

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