Mobile value-added services must be part of firm’s strategy

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Value-added services should be part of marketing and operational strategy at every organisation. PHOTO | FILE | AFP 

By MBUGUA NJIHIA

Mobile technology has come a long way since the days when access to it was a preserve of the wealthy.

Today, with official statistics putting the Kenyan market at 33.3 million mobile subscribers, every single business entity has a large percentage of its consumers active on mobile, making the channel attractive for marketing, demand generation and general communication.

The Communications Authority of Kenya is charged with licensing, starting with the mobile network operators and the providers who then plug in to operator infrastructure to offer value added services using channels such SMS, USSD and voice.

These applications and content service providers then create in-house services targeted at end consumers or offer applications to allow others to independently build their own solutions; all this to meet business or organisational objectives.

SMS and USSD are commonly used. SMS shortcodes are memorable five-digit codes are configured on different billing bands — zero-rated, normal-rated and premium-rated.

Operators are assigned a numbering range by the regulator and you can tell who the range belongs to from its prefix. Shortcodes can be mapped across all other operators ensuring service universality within national GSM networks.

Operators have established processes that providers must follow to get services live which on average takes five business days.

During this time, the shortcodes are linked to the providers’ account and tested for billing, delivery consistency and other parameters that ensure services run tear-free.

Shortcodes in the Kenyan market are rented monthly, which is a cost that most people are often ill-prepared for, especially since getting coverage across all three networks starts adding up if the underlying business model and strategy is not sound.

One can, however, choose to be live on only one network, often inclined toward the market leader.

Spam attacks

The operators in the recent past have taken up new intermediary platforms from vendors such as Huawei and IBM to curb abuse of the channel.

The abuse was in the form of unsolicited messaging also known as spam and illegal onboarding of users to premium services which lead to consumer backlash.

The middleware now allows for better service to consumers. Some attendant services call for additional know-your-customer requirements for legal and regulatory compliance.

USSD, while versatile and well positioned for interactive service, has not seen much uptake outside operator self-help, mobile banking and other financial service implementations primarily due to cost of set-up and maintenance and the lack of a revenue share models in its use.