Safaricom eases foreign calls plan for post-paid clients

Safaricom chief customer officer Sylvia Mulinge (left) and head of digital products and services Fazia Ali during the launch of revamped PostPay bundles in Nairobi on March 3, 2020. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU  

By DOREEN WAINAINAH
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Summary

• Previously, users could only use the bundles to make local calls, with international calls and messaging billed separately.
• The move enables customers more options in spending the services purchased.
• Subscribers on post-paid, mostly professionals and entrepreneurs, offer Safaricom guaranteed and recurring revenues.
• The telco Tuesday introduced the new PostPay plans with bundled voice, data and SMS.

Mobile telephony firm Safaricom has allowed subscribers buying post-paid bundles to also make international calls to the US, India, China and Canada.

Previously, users could only use the bundles to make local calls, with international calls and messaging billed separately.

The move enables customers more options in spending the services purchased. Subscribers on post-paid, mostly professionals and entrepreneurs, offer Safaricom guaranteed and recurring revenues.

“Last year, when we unveiled the ‘For You’ customer commitment, we also made a conscious decision to put more effort into providing greater value and enhanced customer experience for all our customers,” said Sylvia Mulinge, chief customer officer at Safaricom.

The telco Tuesday introduced the new PostPay plans with bundled voice, data and SMS.

The new plans will be available on a 30-day basis with any unused resources rolling over to the next month.

“We have big surprises for our PostPay customers in the near future where we plan to offer additional destinations for international calling and also unveil a device financing model where customers can get a device as part of their PostPay plan,” said Ms Mulinge.

Customers joining the no-expiry PostPay, which is available on the Safaricom App, webpage or USSD, will have the option of choosing from plans that are within their predefined credit limits or topping up to qualify for higher limits.

The new plans have been bundled into five categories: Sh1,000, Sh2,000, Sh3,000, Sh5,000 and Sh10,000.

The lowest plan valued at Sh1,000 will have 5GB data, 400 minutes and unlimited SMS, while the Sh10,000 plan allows for a maximum 10,000 minutes, high-speed internet up to 100GB after which the speed is capped to 1MB per second and 10,000 SMS.

The firm has also allowed select subscribers on PostPay to convert unused minutes to data.

Users will be allowed to sign up for PostPay directly from their devices, unlike the original concept that required the subscriber to visit a Safaricom shop and file paperwork for a plan.

Subscribers have pressured Safaricom into offering bundles with no expiry and more affordable options.

Last year, the firm offered no-expiry bundles for its prepaid subscribers.