Zuku opens double-digit lead in fixed-line Internet market

Corporate News

Zuku crew at a past function in Eldoret. Wananchi Group, owners of the brand, has raised its market share of fixed Internet customers to 44.7 per cent. PHOTO|FILE 

By OKUTTAH MARK

In Summary

• Liquid Telecoms, which has maintained the number two position, lost 3,777 subscribers during the period.
• Other Internet service providers such as Safaricom, Telkom Kenya and Jamii Telecoms increased the number of subscribers marginally, boosting their market share as well.

Telecoms company Wananchi Group has increased its market share of fixed Internet customers, opening up a double-digit lead over its closest challenger, Liquid Telecom, between January and March 2014.

 

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The latest industry statistics by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) show that Wananchi Group, owners of the Zuku brand, increased its market share to 44.7 per cent up from 35.4 per cent after it netted 12,299 subscribers in a similar period last year.

Liquid Telecoms, which has maintained the number two position, lost 3,777 subscribers during the period, which saw its market share decline to 17.8 per cent up from the previous 23.7 per cent in a similar period last year.

During the period Internet users rose to 21.7 million up from 16.4 million.

“The market share for each of the mobile operators as measured by data/Internet subscriptions changed during the quarter under review,” read part of the CA quarter one report.

“It is expected that the data/Internet market will maintain an upward trend in the coming periods considering the increasing integration of ICTs within various sectors of the economy,” it added.

Other Internet service providers such as Safaricom, Telkom Kenya and Jamii Telecoms increased the number of subscribers marginally, boosting their market share as well.

Safaricom added 564 new subscribers during the period lifting its market share to 7.1 per cent. Telkom Kenya netted 1,134 clients slightly pushing up its market share to 11.6 per cent.

New subscribers

Jamii Telecoms — the owners of Faiba brand — added 674 new clients during the period lifting its market share to 2.6 per cent from 2.1 per cent.

In the mobile Internet segment, Safaricom’s market share declined to 72.1 per cent despite it having signed up more than 2.4 million new mobile Internet subscribers.

Airtel Kenya added 744,886 subscribers during the period, catapulting its market share to 11.2 per cent up from the 10.3 per cent registered last year.

Telkom’s Kenya Orange, doubled the number of mobile subscribers in this category to 1.4 million subscribers, pushing its market share to 10.3 per cent from the previous eight per cent last year during a similar period.

Essar’s yuMobile, which is currently in talks with Safaricom and Airtel to buy its infrastructure and take over its subscribers respectively, is the only operator that lost subscribers –102,641 – during the period seeing its market share drop to 3.9 per cent between January to March 2014, up from 6.4 per cent between January to March 2013.