Equitel call rates will be at par with others

From Left: Airtel Kenya CEO Adil Youseffi, Finserve (a subsidiary of Equity Bank) chair John Waweru, Equity Bank CEO Dr James Mwangi and Chief Officer, Finance, Innovation and Technology John Staley during the unveiling of the bank’s Mobile Virtual Network Operator strategy. PHOTO | FILE |

What you need to know:

  • Presently, the services are only available to Equity account holders
  • To be launched under the brand name Equitel, the services are priced on the same level or are even more expensive than what is already in the market.
  • Compared to Safaricom, which charges Sh50 for 40 MBs, Equitel would charge Sh160 if it is to charge Sh4 per bundle. Airtel charges Sh40.

Consumers waiting for Equity Bank to have cheaper mobile phone services could be in for disappointment if the bank’s pilot rates are anything to go by.   

To be launched under the brand name Equitel, the services are priced on the same level or are even more expensive than what is already in the market.

The Equitel rate card in circulation, and seen by the Sunday Nation, shows that prepaid telephone rates to all networks including Equitel will cost Sh4 per minute. Text messages will be charged at Sh1 while Internet will be priced at Sh4 per MB.

Safaricom and Airtel charge a flat rate of Sh3 per minute for on-net calls while calls terminating in different networks are charged at Sh4 per minute.

Telkom Kenya, on the other hand, charges Sh2 per minute for calls within its network and Sh3 across other networks, while yuMobile subscribers pay Sh3 for both on-net and off-net calls.

A call to Equitel’s customer care department using the number 100 or 0763000100 revealed that the telco is yet to consider placing its services on tariffs and unlimited Internet options.

“We are yet to consider special tariffs. We are just trying the services on a pilot basis. Consumer uptake is very good, though our network is still unstable,” customer care personnel told the Sunday Nation.

For now, Equitel services are only available to Equity Bank account holders, with those in the know saying this will remain the case, more so given that Equity’s primary aim is to use the service to move money.

This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that a subscriber can only buy airtime by drawing money directly from their main account using the mobile money service.

Equity aims to officially roll out its services on thin SIM technology after the completion of the pilot programme.

“We want thin SIM to provide a secure and affordable mobile banking option to Kenyans in the diaspora who cannot access local banking services abroad,” said Equity CEO James Mwangi before a parliamentary committee last week.

“We are targeting 9.1 million subscribers countrywide. If we reach the 27 million unconnected Kenyans, we will have created one of the biggest networks in Africa.”

Last week was an intense one with the ongoing Equity-Safaricom duel over thin SIM technology. This prompted Equity to rush the launch of its mobile services to the market using the normal SIM on a pilot basis as they await arrival of the thin SIMs.

The Communications Authority and the Central Bank of Kenya on Monday last week gave Equity the green light to roll out its services. The lender was to roll out the services on a pilot basis as the regulator conducted a study on the thin SIM’s security.

It emerged that Equity’s team, led Mr Mwangi and Finserve, were on a mission to the United States to secure the thin SIM as the piloting of Equitel began.

Although consumers are excited over the entry of Equitel into the market, they could be in for a shock as the telco’s mobile data charges place it as the most expensive in the market.

HIGHER CHARGES

Compared to Safaricom, which charges Sh50 for 40 MBs, Equitel would charge Sh160 if it is to charge Sh4 per bundle. Airtel charges Sh40.

Equitel is among mobile virtual network operators licensed in May by CA to operate on Airtel’s network alongside Tangaza Pesa and Zioncell.

Equity had promised more affordable charges and affirmed that its main target market would be the low-income earners.

Making the announcement, Mr Mwangi avoided specifications on voice and Internet charges. He said the telco’s mobile money transfer fees would be as low as one per cent of the transaction value. “If you send Sh100, you will pay Sh1. If you send Sh1,000, you will pay a maximum of Sh25,” said Mr Mwangi.

Perhaps the rush to capture this market that Safaricom also intends to consolidate is what fuelled the battle between the two giants. Equity’s move to use the thin SIM further aggravated the issue that has sucked in major industry players.

The ICT Ministry, CA, CBK, and the Information Communication Technology Association of Kenya support Equity’s plan to roll out its mobile services on the thin SIM.

The Parliamentary Committee on Energy and ICT tried to revoke the licence, an attempt that was scuttled by CA.

Although Safaricom announced it had washed its hands off the issue, it maintains that the technology poses major security threats.