FEATURED STORY

Telkom lures more subscribers with free calls zones

Statistics released by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) in the last two quarters show that Telkom has eaten into Safaricom’s subscriber

Telkom has announced the launch of free zones for its pre-paid voice customers, a service that will enable voice calls enthusiasts to enjoy free Telkom to Telkom calls all day and night at designated points.

In the recent months, Telkom has also been giving customers free lines as the company seeks to increase its market share, the latest moves signal the company’s resolve to build on its strong performance in the last two quarters.

With the new service, customers will only need to have Ksh 50 worth of airtime in their phones and be at the designated areas in order to make the calls. Telkom customers will not need to subscribe to any bundle in order to enjoy the service.

To verify whether they will be in a free zones, customers will just have to dial *888#

SMSs sent across the network will be charged at Ksh 1.10 per text. However customers will be able to subscribe to SMS bundles for Ksh5.

Calls made to other networks will be charged at the prevailing rate of Ksh 3.30 per minute.

READ: AS SAFARICOM LSOES SUBSCRIBERS, AIRTEL BUILDS ON MARKET SHARE GAIN

Telkom’s Free Zones have so far been launched in the larger Nyanza region – Kisumu, Siaya, Homabay and South Nyanza.

Other Free Zone areas include Machakos, Muranga, Nyahururu, Eldoret, Cherangany and Turbo. The company is slated to announce more free areas soon.

In a statement to newsrooms on Friday, Telkom Kenya’s Mobile Division Managing Director Amer Atwi described the new service as part of the telco’s commitment to offer more value and benefit to its customers.

“Our customers remain at the heart of what we do and we are always excited to give them a stronger value proposition. The introduction of the Telkom Free Zones targets to provide customers with more opportunity to communicate, while at the same time getting to enjoy our network quality.” said Mr Atwi.

Telkom recently signed a loan agreement worth Ksh.4.1 Billion with the European Investment Bank (EIB). The funds will be used to expand the coverage and capacity of Telkom’s network, in response to growing customer demand.