By Macharia Kamau
Mobile phone subscribers grew to 19.7 million and the number of Internet users reached 6.4 million during the quarter ending March 31, a new report has said.
The quarterly sector statistics by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) also show a sustained decline in the number of subscribers on the country's fixed line network run by Telkom Kenya.
According to CCK, the mobile telephony industry grew 2.7 per cent to 19.7 million, compared to 19.4 million subscribers as at end of the quarter ending December 31, last year.
Internet users grew to 6.4 million, an 87.3 per cent increase compared to 3.4 million users in March last year. CCK said the growth was due to innovative offerings by service providers, as connectivity to social networking sites through the mobile phones rose.
The industry regulator attributed the growth in mobile usage to multiple SIM card ownership due to increased number of operators in the country.
"The growth in the number of mobile subscriptions can be attributed to multiple SIMs ownership, and increased number of service providers offering attractive promotions," said the CCK report released on Monday.
Were it not for multiple SIM card holding rampant in the local market, the numbers would have meant that more than half of Kenyans now have a mobile phone, with the penetration levels at 51 per cent
"During the quarter under review, mobile penetration increased from 49.7 per cent in the previous quarter, to 51.0 per cent. This is an increase of 1.3 percentage points," said CCK.
Time Talking
The report showed that the amount of time subscribers spent talking on their mobile phones also doubled over the last year, to 89 minutes per month in March compared to 45.97 minutes per month in March last year.
"Minutes of use per subscriber per month recorded 89.32 minutes. This represents an 88 per cent increase compared to the same period the previous year. The growth is in line with the increased mobile traffic and mobile subscriptions," said CCK.
Source: The Standard | Online Edition
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