NAIROBI, Kenya, March 8 – The number of Short Message Services(SMSs) sent declined significantly in the quarter running from October to December last year as the platform took a hit from call promotions and the growing popularity of internet-based messaging platforms such as Whatsapp.
The latest industry data from the Communication Authority (CA) shows that consumers sent 12.1 billion texts in the period a 15 per cent decline from 14.2 billion texts sent in the previous quarter.
“The general decline in domestic SMS is attributed to limited special offers and promotions during the reference period as compared to the previous quarter,” CA noted.
The industry regulator also highlighted that increased preference for OTT services like Whatsapp also influenced the slow uptake of SMS.
Meanwhile, talk time measured by outgoing domestic mobile voice traffic increased by 10.1 percent to post 20.8 billion minutes from 18.9 billion recorded in the previous quarter.
The growth was attributed to the various voice promotions and special offers launched by the market players during the period coupled with long school holidays and the festive season.
Customers on Airtel Networks spent more time on a single on-net call averaging 2.8 minutes, it was followed by Equitel where customers averaged 2.5 minutes, Telkom at 2 minutes then Safaricom at 1.5 minutes.
Further, Telkom Kenya Ltd and Equitel customers recorded the highest average Minutes of Use per off-net call at 1.3, mainly attributed to the lower calling rates offered by the operators.
On the international front, incoming mobile voice traffic declined by 3.4 percent whereas international outgoing mobile voice traffic rose by 4.6 percent during the reference period.
Similar to the local trends, international incoming and outgoing mobile SMS declined by 5.6 and 6.1 percent to 8.6 million and 4.7 million messages respectively.
This was also attributed to the increased preference for OTT channels such as Whatsapp and the availability of lucrative special offers and promotions for data bundles that facilitate access to OTTs.
