I just long for the time when CCK will enforce the intended rule on single on-net and off-net tariffs within the networks. This will be the end of the DORMINANT OPERATOR manipulations!!! Add this to the sim portability and we shall all be the winners as consumers of the service.

Neither. Too competitive. I prefer businesses that have net margins of 40% or more eg CARBACID

Diversification is the key to success in business. Safaricom doesnt rely on voice calls only. We, the consumers are happy that the rates are down but businesswise, i dont know where companies like Pain and Yu will derive profits from. Mpesa, data and laptops/handsets sale will be very key to safcm revenue going foward.

Cha mwenzako kikinyolewa, chako kitie maji... Babu aliniambia

Way to go Wendz, I'm safcom diehard as well...

@guru267
safcm profits will go down. No debate about that. Biggest qn is what will happen to Pain which has no other source of revenue????
Safcm got over 3B last financial yr from sale of laptops/phones only. How much did pain make from the same?
Mwenye nguvu mpishe!! Babu alinifunza

@Bkismat, EBIDTA means Earnings Before Interest Dvidends and Tax

@ Abunuasi fro safaricon marketing dept.Nothing u say will move us.

My people, our customers,


It is what we call smart, in touch with customer needs decisions. Safaricom does not engage in price wars but listens to its customers while taking care of its shareholder’s interests. The recent price changes by Zain, and indeed their childish games of mounting loud speakers at Safaricom’s headquarters for a whole day goes to prove how out of touch with their customers they are. The noises, if meant to be part of their advertisement policy, would have been more effective if made at a crowded market place of the true customer, and not trying to convert Safaricom employees to be their customers. Its not the first time, it won’t be the last, and quite frankly a waste of time.

Safaricom took its time to listen. Indeed, the voice market in Kenya has been over-priced. This has mainly been driven by CCK’s interconnect fees. It was only a matter of time for Safaricom to lower its tariffs to more affordable rates since there was no motivation to continue charging high rates when CCK has lowered the inter-connect rate.

Most of our customers have always advocated for recognition when they buy Safaricom services, and especially when they spend more. It was in this light that Safaricom decided to put spending rates in the customer’s hands. It all started with Supa Ongea Tariff, and now, if you load 100 shillings worth of airtime in your phone, you make calls much cheaper than our less amiable competitor’s rates.

Did you know that Our competitor’s tariff is per minute? I called their call center last evening, and I was promptly told it’s that way because it is much cheaper. Zain may have gotten cheaper, but their dirty tricks of not disclosing all the terms and conditions of their charges still prevails. Safaricom’s tariffs have always been on a per second billing. We started that game, need I remind you, when Zain’s (then KenCell) way of doing business was to deduct 57 shillings for every 300 shillings voucher you bought, and still you would be charged per minute at 36 shillings. Meaning, every call you make, if the call ended at 1.000000000001 minutes, you would pay 72 shillings for it. Do you see that trend here? Old dogs don’t really learn new tricks, do they?

Well, most would dismiss this as wounded lion’s reaction, but it is just the truth. Safaricom will only charge you 2 shillings per minute or 3.33 cents per second if you load your phone with airtime of 100 shillings and above. Zain will still charge you a full 3 shillings for every second until it clocks 60 seconds. If your call ends at 10 seconds, its still 3 shillings. If it ends at 1 minute 1 second and 2 milli-seconds (like David Rudisha’s record breaking time), it will be 6 shillings. So who is kidding who?

Safaricom decided to start out as a promotion, but I am sure of this. With the reaction this is getting, it will be made permanent. This is why. By clearly targeting increased volume through offering better rates the more you spend, Safaricom ensures that the cut in price is matched by increase in volume. That is what people who care about their shareholders (especially if those shareholders are nationals in the country the operate) do. The last thing you want to happen is to make Kenyans even poorer. Who owns Zain? Is it trading at the stock exchange? Safaricom is not saying you should cling to it just because you are Kenyan. Safaricom says welcome to the better option because you deserve it. Because it is cheaper. Because it is the most innovative company this side of the Sahara. Because it holds the enviable position of the most profitable company this side of the Sahara. And that, ladies and gentlemen, comes with a greater social responsibility. These values must be upheld for an organization in that position that cares.

So, Safaricom does not view what is currently going on in the market as child’s play like Zain would like you to believe. Ask Zain what is happening to their sales. When next you go to a dealer shop that sells bothe Safaricom and Zain airtime, ask then if Zain airtime is still moving. Ask them how sales are with Safaricom airtime, and what denominations are moving. That will cement the difference between a clear thinking, visionary company does versus what a reactionary, short sighted one does. Speaking of short sightedness, Safaricom has been on 3G for the last 2 years now. Zain is just launching their 3G network. Safaricom is in the process of launching 4G. The data business beckons and the frontier has already been raided by Safaricom, while Zain still plays catch-up on the voice front.

People have said to me, “We welcome Indians because of their shrewdness in doing business. Well, Safaricom is ready for them. Kenyans are ready for then. It’s a level playing field, and its Zain’s to gain and Safaricom’s to lose. Let’s see if indeed we Kenyans can lose to the Indian companies on our home tuff. Essar has been here for a while. Essar who?

Simply put, start caring about Zain, Essar, Orange, and any other that may come in after they list on the stock exchange. After they give Kenyans a chance to share in their profits. After they appoint Kenyans to their boards. After they employ Kenyans in higher level management positions. After they become visionary. After they start giving back to society. After they become cheaper. After they exercise some maturity. After they stop changing ownership like underwear. After they start caring about you and what you think. After they start giving stable jobs with benefits to fellow Kenyans. After they become Kenyan.

I beg to bow out. I am staying with Safaricom!

The fact I'm on Wazua should tell you that I just need a second on Google to know what this means.But it is very useless for Safcon to try throw these words to the general populace.They are useless like kumpigia mbuzi guitar.

Some responses I get on this blog disapoint me. This is a blog on Wazua, a sight that targets an investor-savvy populace for God's sake!

Dont just post things out of emotion only (Though even some investment decisions may be driven by emotion). Thats not an excuse.

For someone on this forum to post that they dont care who sits at the board? I thought I had heard everything.

Principle is, never get emotionally attached to any company. I think Safaricom is a good investment for the future because its drive is futuristic. Its the only telco that is futuristic in the Kenyan market right now. But I would dump it so fast if it didnt meet this criteria. Just ask Microsoft where Apple is... and then ask Apple what happens to its stock every time their founder is taken to hospital. These things matter.

I am here for wealth creation. And I appreciate all comments made here, because usually a lot of blogging reveals insider information. If you are a valued investor, you know how much that can mean to your decisions to invest or not.

So lets post some valuable feedback. Like it or not, you care.