Internet service providers (ISPs) have ramped up competition through a fresh round of price wars in the race to attract subscribers in the rapidly growing home fibre market.
This follows an exponential growth in demand for broadband across many parts of the country following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic that has forced millions to work and study from home.
This has led to a flurry of marketing campaigns by both telcos and ISPs in densely populated urban areas, raising hope for cheaper and faster internet.
According to the industry regulator Communications Authority, the number of fixed data subscribers in Kenya rose 48 per cent from 418,328 in June last year to 619,579 as of June this year. Read More
This number is expected to rise in the near-term as more Kenyans have sought connectivity to both their homes and businesses in recent months.
In several Nairobi estates such as Umoja, Buruburu, Imara Daima and Embakasi, ISPs are jostling for new subscribers who now find a fixed broadband connection a necessity unlike before.
Safaricom currently leads with a 33.5 per cent share of the fixed data market, and in the past year, the company saw subscribers on its fibre to the home (FTTH) service increase by 56 per cent to 119,061, boosting the company’s overall service revenue.
“This growth was driven by FTTH, which increased 47.2 per cent year-on-year, with distinct customers growing 56.8 per cent year-on-year,” said Chief Executive Peter Ndegwa earlier this month while releasing the company’s latest financial results.
“The growth is driven by the customer shift to work from home and an increase in the penetration of homes connected.”
The company further indicated that the average revenue per user (ARPU) on its fibre to the home service is Sh2,301. This translates to at least Sh273 million generated from the service each month this year, up from Sh183 million last year.
Safaricom’s fibre network now passes 330,000 homes and the telco has aggressively been working to convert this into new subscriptions and revenues.Zuku, the pioneer home internet service provider and once the market leader, has over the past few months ramped up the laying of new infrastructure and connectivity.The firm has traditionally counted Eastlands, including Umoja, BuruBuru, Pipeline and Embakasi as its stronghold.Safaricom’s foray into some of these estates has pushed Zuku to unveil new offerings to dissuade consumers from switching.In the past few months, the company has been calling subscribers who have signed up […]