Safaricom takes on Telkom Kenya with new landline call rates advert

Corporate News

Mr Bob Collymore, Safaricom’s Chief Executive Officer. Safaricom’s landline rates are fixed at four shillings for both intra and cross-network calls. PHOTO | FILE 

By MUGAMBI MUTEGI, pmutegi@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• The advert points out that an unnamed operator’s landline rates are 67 per cent more than Safaricom’s cross-network calling rates and 33 per cent more for on-net calls.
• Safaricom’s landline rates are fixed at four shillings for both intra and cross-network calls.
• Telkom Kenya has three different types of landline tariffs—the highest one is priced at Sh12 for cross-network calls and Sh6 for on-net calls.

Safaricom has unveiled a new advertisement depicting its landline rates as being cheaper than rival Telkom Kenya, appearing to rekindle an advertising battle between the two telcos that ended up in court last year.

The advert, appearing in Wednesday’s newspapers, points out that an unnamed operator’s landline rates are 67 per cent more than Safaricom’s cross-network calling rates and 33 per cent more for on-net calls.

“Hang up on high landline costs; switch to Safaricom Landline,” states the Safaricom advert advising customers currently on the Telkom landline network to decamp.

Safaricom’s landline rates are fixed at four shillings for both intra and cross-network calls.

Telkom has three different types of landline tariffs—the highest one is priced at Sh12 for cross-network calls and six shillings for on-net calls. It is this band that Safaricom has now alluded to in its advert using its rival’s corporate colours to drive the point home.

“Our landline rates are the best in the business allowing you to call on and off the network at only four shillings flat. Why call less when you can call more with Safaricom Landline?”

Safaricom had 7,499 ordinary landline customers as at September 2014 and another 514 large corporate customers connected to the network using fibre optic cable.

Revenues from these customers grew 23 per cent to 1.5 billion in the period under review, numbers that Safaricom is keen on growing by drawing clients away from Telkom — the oldest fixed line operator in the country.

“The entry of other players into this niche market was expected; hence our continued review of the same to ensure that we offer up-to-date fixed solutions to the customer,” said George Mlaghui, Telkom’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer.

The new advert has revived a spat that played out in January last year when Safaricom accused Telkom of aggressive advertising to the extent of forwarding the case to the Advertising Standards Body of Kenya (ASBK).

Telkom’s commercial made use of a green SIM card to depict Safaricom as the more expensive network.

READ: Telkom ordered to withdraw advert in row with Safaricom

Safaricom soon after petitioned the ASBK to take action on Orange for aggressive advertising in what was the first public spat between the firms since the price wars of 2010.

Safaricom took issue with Telkom’s assertion that calls from its network were set at four shillings a minute, higher than its charges three and two shillings for off-net and on-net calls respectively.

Safaricom contested this statement since it charges two shillings a minute during off peak hours, which run between 10pm and 8am