You pay 1/- to few (3/- to others)from 8am to 5pm "promotion" then you take a taxi to get to a post office(if it is open at night) to withdraw mobile money sent to you in an emergency.

Actually 1/- from 6am to 6pm [plus 10-25% bonus for top-ups through 31 Jan 2011]

Also Airtel has Airtel Money [Zap] which works quite well though not as widespread as Safaricom's M-Pesa...

1) There are many more on 'voice' than M-Pesa
2) Most Kenyans [incl me] are double-SIMers. So multiple options. I call using Airtel. Data Safaricom. Pesa Transfer is either/or though I prefer Zap coz cheaper.

Saw yesterday on k24 that customer care and IT of Airtel has already been outsourced. Surely this isn't what we wanted as Kenyans

Meanwhile in other morally reprehensible news...

The Star reports fury as Airtel 'fires'customer care staff. In effect, Airtel has handed over the more than 80 staff to newly established Spanco Raps Kenya Ltd. Their benefits are transferred to new co including the uncertanities that surround their jobs.

But some staff query whether their years of service to Airtel will be recognized accordingly saying "We don't want our benfits to be transferred, we want them to pay us".

Spanco Limited is a public limited company on the Bombay Stock Exchange, employing over 10,000 people in call-centres in India. Mara Group is a Ugandan IT company that concluded a venture with Spanco late last year.


I figure they have incorporated a Kenyan company for the time being
http://www.spancobpo.com/bpo.html
http://www.capitalfm.co....pala,-Nairobi-4926.html

Safaricom also uses Orange because it has some value. No one enjoys switching sim cards, i have an orange wireless line unto which i used to divert my mobile calls to avoid carrying two phones(because we were forced to have alternate numbers on different services at work), i no longer need to because the costs have dropped to almost level, so now my safcom line carries the most value as almost all calls i get are on it, i leave my wireless in the office. I hardly see people switch sims these days.

On the revenue issue, i use safaricom business, it is by far the fastest most reliable thing i have ever come across in terms of network, believe me we have tried several options over the years, but you will not believe how reliable this thing is, do not underestimate the revenue from data, i guess many businesses are. Any random test i do is always above 2mbps