The CEO of Kenyan market leader Safaricom has stated that the operator has no plans to react to Airtel Kenya’s imminent halving of its cross-network calling fees.
Safaricom’s Bob Collymore has told members of the Kenyan press that he can “see a price war coming” after Airtel announced its cuts, but noted that Safaricom must “maintain a sustainable business”, and therefore would not lower its tariffs in response. He added that the operator was prepared to cede some of its (majority) share of the mobile market.
Collymore’s comments come on the back of his return from a leave of absence. Last week, he spoke to a National Assembly Committee investigating competition in Kenya’s market in order to decry proposals that he claimed were punitive towards Safaricom and its subscribers.
Despite the committee’s investigation, the Communications Authority of Kenya has supported Collymore’s assertion that Safaricom’s market dominance is not detrimental to competition in Kenya.
Collymore also spoke on the subject of security, with Kenya’s Business Daily reporting that Safaricom is increasing the amount of subscriber data that it collects, which it claims will improve security. To this end, the operator is also testing biometric technologies for identity verification, including fingerprint scanners.