Telkom Kenya remains optimistic despite odds

By Macharia Kamau

Telkom Kenya is putting on a brave face despite what seems to be dwindling fortunes, and now says it is intent on growing the number of customers on its network, as well as get its customers to use its products.

The company termed a recent dip in the number of customers its mobile network as a minor setback, and is putting measures in place to turn around the situation over the coming quarters.

The France Telecom majority owned telco has in the recent past seen the number of customers on its GSM network – Orange mobile – dip, while customers on its landline network have been declining on a year on year basis.

Dormant subscribers

According to a Communication Commission of Kenya report, a substantial chunk of Telkom Kenya’s three million plus subscribers were also deemed dormant, and do not call as the company only has a 1.1 per cent market share by traffic.

The firm only experienced growth on its data services. Telkom Kenya CEO, Mickael Ghossein, said a late September switch off of counterfeit phones partly saw the firm lose 28, 000 subscribers during the first quarter of 2012/2013 financial year.

“A combination of factors contributed to this (decline in subscribers). Last year, we switched off counterfeit mobile handsets on our network in compliance with industry regulation. We have tried to improve the value proposition to the customer, but as is the case with every other operator, the possibility of churn will emerge,” he said.

“There could be occasions where the levels of acquisition are lower than the churn levels; as market forces constantly at play impact our position in the market one way or another. Telkom Kenya nonetheless remains focused on its growth strategy, with the long-term focus being to increase market share.”

“We are working to boost our market share by traffic and we are optimistic in expecting an upward trend in the future... we are focused on our growth strategy, with long-term focus on increasing market share.”