Kenyans reduce time spent on voice calls, SMS

Information communications technology PS Joephy Tiampati with CCK general manager Francis Wangusi when they announced december 13th as the switch off date for the analog television proadcast yesterday.Photo Tabitha otwori

The average use per subscriber reduced to 80.3 minutes per month during the quarter to March from 84.1 in the quarter to December 2013

Kenyans are cutting down on the amount of time they spend talking on their phones, according to the latest data on telecommunications service usage.

A quarterly report by Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) shows a dip in the duration of time that Kenyans spend talking on phone as well as a reduction in the number of text messages they have been sending.

The data indicates that the average use per subscriber went down to 80.3 minutes per month during the quarter to March from 84.1 minutes in the quarter to December 2013.

There was a similar pattern registered in the area of text messaging.

The dip also means that the average revenue per user (ARPU) for the two traditional revenue streams could signal a rough patch for operators given their heavy dependence on voice and SMS for revenues.

While voice calls and text messaging are seen as a beaten path among telcos with emphasis now on data and other non-traditional revenue streams like mobile money, voice and SMS still remain key and contribute upwards of 60 per cent of operators' revenues in the country.

The decline occurred despite a growth in the total number of mobile subscribers that went up 1.7 per cent to 31.8 million during the quarter under review.

"Despite the growth in mobile subscriptions, there was a recorded decline in local mobile voice traffic of 2.7 per cent to post 7.6 billion minutes down from 7.8 billion minutes recorded during the previous quarter," said the telecoms industry regulator in the report released yesterday.

"Moreover, subscriber average minutes of use was recorded at 80.3 minutes per month compared to 84.1 minutes registered in the last quarter," the report added.

"Similarly, SMS traffic declined by 1.0 per cent to reach 6.22 billion down from 6.28 billion messages sent during the preceding quarter. Thus, each subscriber sent out an average of 65.1 messages per month."

CAK attributed the decline to the end of the December holiday season when the operators usually have a lot of promotions in their bid to cash in on the holiday mood.

"This decline could be attributed to the reduced effect of the festive season which ended early January," said the CAK report.

It could also be a pointer to the rise in cost of living with many being forced to cut down on non-essentials as the cost of essential commodities goes up.

According to the telecommunications sector report, it is also possible that subscribers are employing alternative communication platforms that are deemed to be more cost effective, for instance social networks (Facebook and Whatsapp) in place of SMSs.

Business
Premium Financial hardships dampen Easter celebrations among Kenyans
Business
Premium Water PS Korir put on the spot over Sh14m dam land
Business
Premium Looming crisis as top lenders stare at Sh500b in bad loans
Business
Premium Ruto's food security hopes facing storm amid fake fertiliser scam