• Latest
  • All
  • How To
Roaming Charges

Check Out How Ridiculously Expensive Roaming Charges Can Get For Kenyans on Safaricom and Airtel

May 2, 2017
digital-tv-standards-kenya

Kenya Sets New Rules for Digital TVs Starting Next Month

June 19, 2025
Kenya's Government Censors X for Global Image

Abductions and Arrests! Kenyan Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

June 19, 2025
drones-healthcare-delivery

Rural Kenya Is Turning to Drones to Speed Up Healthcare Delivery

June 18, 2025
TikTok

TikTok Could Go Dark (Again) in the U.S. This Week

June 17, 2025
DHgate Tablet Cases deals
whatsapp meta ads

Meta Officially Brings Ads to WhatsApp

June 17, 2025
Infinix Smart 10 HD

Infinix Launches the Smart 10 Series Lineup

June 16, 2025
Infinix Hot 60 Pro+

Infinix Wants to Fit a 5,160 mAh Battery in the Slim Hot 60 Pro+ Frame

June 16, 2025
Aigov

U.S. Plans to Launch AI Hub for Government Agencies

June 16, 2025
multichoice-dstv-showmax

Multichoice Subscriber Numbers Drop by 15% As Kenyans Cut Back on Spending

June 16, 2025
Huawei-Watch

Huawei Surpasses Apple to Lead Global Wearables Market

June 12, 2025
Kenya-KICTANet-MindHYVE-ai-

Kenya Partners with US AI Firms to Co-Create National AI Policy with KICTANet

June 12, 2025
youtube-apple-ai

Creators Can Now Promote Videos Without Leaving YouTube Studio

June 12, 2025
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
No Result
View All Result

Check Out How Ridiculously Expensive Roaming Charges Can Get For Kenyans on Safaricom and Airtel

Kenn Abuya by Kenn Abuya
May 2, 2017
in News
Reading Time: 6 mins read
248
4
Roaming Charges

Source: www.taoofindifference.com

Shocking Roaming Charges

Whether you are travelling for business purposes or pleasure, the costs of maintaining communication ties with clients and friends are prohibitively expensive. In a bid to alleviate roaming constraints, local service providers, including Safaricom and Airtel have been slashing roaming charges in select countries. For example, an agreement called One Network was signed by East Africa’s heads of state in 2015 as a measure to reduce roaming prices. The agreement was driven by the need to improve socio-economic growth in the region.

With a substantial growth in data service adoption, it is disappointing to see service providers charge up to KES 440 per MB in UAE while partnering with Airtel World. It is even worse in China and Hong Kong where Airtel charges KES 1,847 and KES 721 per MB respectively, with China Mobile as the roaming carrier. Ideally, it is a stretch viewing a single WhatsApp story or upload a bathroom selfie/aircraft wing photo on Instagram with a lone MB of data for such amounts of money.

We have selected a few popular destinations and summarized their roaming charges in terms of data, voice and SMS for you globetrotters. The charges are applicable for pre-pay and post-pay customers.

Starting with Asia:

United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai et al.)

Safaricom (with Etisalat as the roaming partner)                                                                              

Calls made within: KES 10 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 10 per min

To other countries: KES 85 per min

To receive voice call: KES 40 per min

SMS to all destinations: KES 10 per SMS

Data: KES 14 per MB

Airtel (with Airtel World)

Calls made within: KES 110 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 110 per min

To receive a voice call: KES 110 per min

SMS: KES 29 to all destinations

Data: KES 440 per MB

China

Safaricom (with China Mobile or China Unicom)                                                                                

Calls made within: KES 10 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 35 or 50 per min

To other countries: KES 70 per min

To receive voice call: KES 5 per min

SMS to all destinations: KES 10 per SMS

Data: KES 14 per MB

Airtel (with China Mobile and China Unicom)

Calls made within: KES 86.33 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 356.10 per min

To receive a voice call: KES 85 per min

SMS: KES 36 or 41 to all destinations

Data: KES 1,847 or 924 per MB

We kid you not – that is KES 1,847 or KES 924 for an MB of data. Ouch!

Hong Kong

Safaricom (with H3G)                                                                           

Calls made within: KES 40 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 290 per min

To other countries: KES 280 per min

To receive voice call: KES 70 per min

SMS to all destinations: KES 50 per SMS

Data: KES 35 per MB

Airtel (with China Mobile)

Calls made within: KES 32.62 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 228.28 per min

To receive a voice call: KES 85 per min

SMS: KES 43 to all destinations

Data: KES 721 per MB

Korea, Republic Of

Safaricom (unspecified carrier partner)                                                                             

Calls made within: KES 70 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 225 per min

To other countries: KES 235 per min

To receive voice call: KES 40 per min

SMS to all destinations: KES 40 per SMS

Data: KES 1500 per MB

Airtel (with KT Corporation)

Calls made within: KES 90.20 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 275 per min

To receive a voice call: KES 85 per min

SMS: KES 33 to all destinations

Data: KES 1352 per MB

It is apparent that Airtel’s charges extremely high for the above Asian nations especially on the data front. Safaricom’s roaming fees are relatively reasonable except in the Korea Republic, Of where they have not specified a roaming partner.

Shifting to North America:

Canada

Safaricom (with Rogers or Telus)                                                                               

Calls made within: KES 5 or 55 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 265 or 85 per min

To other countries: KES 265 or 350 per min

To receive voice call: KES 5 per min

SMS to all destinations: KES 35 per SMS

Data: KES 250 or 14 per MB

It is a mixed case here; Telus is easy on data and calls made to Kenya while Rogers is favourable on calls made withing Canada only.

Airtel (with Bell or Rogers or Telus)

Calls made within: KES 98.18 or 146.11 or 107.53 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 248.33 or 368.45 or 271.98 per min

To receive a voice call: KES 85 per min

SMS: KES 10 to all destinations

Data: KES 946 or 1899 or 1036 per MB

There is now way about this; roaming on Airtel in Canada is a ripoff at best.

U.S.A.

Safaricom (AT&T and T-Mobile)                                                                              

Calls made within: KES 10 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 10 per min

To other countries: KES 10 per min

To receive voice call: KES 5 per min

SMS to all destinations: KES 10 per SMS

Data: KES 14 per MB

Fair, if you ask me.

Airtel (with T-Mobile and AT&T)

Calls made within: KES 110 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 110 per min

To receive a voice call: KES 110 per min

SMS: KES 29 to all destinations

Data: KES 440 per MB

 

In case you are flying to Naijaland:

Nigeria

Safaricom (with MTN)

Calls made within: KES 35 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 30 per min

To other countries: KES 85 per min

To receive voice call: KES 30 per min

SMS to all destinations: KES 20 per SMS

Data: KES 14 per MB

Airtel (With Airtel Nigeria)

Calls made within: KES 12 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 35 per min

To receive a voice call: FREE

SMS: KES 17 to all destinations

Data: KES 69 per MB

Airtel loses to Safaricom on data but has an upper hand on calls and SMS. What is more, you can receive calls for free with Airtel.

Going south:

South Africa

Safaricom (with Vodacom SA/MTN)

Calls made within: KES 15 or 35 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 15 or 30 per min

To other countries: KES 70 or 85 per min

To receive voice call: KES 18 per min

SMS to all destinations: KES 5 or 20 per SMS

Data: KES 14 per MB

Airtel (with MTN)

Calls made within: KES 110 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 110 per min

To receive a voice call: KES 110 per min

SMS: KES 29 to all destinations

Data: KES 440 per MB

Again, Safaricom is the better option here.

Closer to home:

South Sudan

Safaricom (with MTN)

Calls made within: KES 10 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 10 per min

To other countries: KES 120 per min

To receive voice call: FREE

SMS to all destinations: KES 5 per SMS

Data: KES 35 per MB

Airtel (with MTN South Sudan)

Calls made within: KES 10 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 10 per min

To receive a voice call: FREE

SMS: KES 6 to all destinations

Data: KES 249 per MB

Travelers can receive calls for free for the two carriers.

Tanzania

Safaricom (with Vodacom)

Calls made within: KES 55 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 55 per min

To other countries: KES 55 per min

To receive voice call: KES 25 per min

SMS to all destinations: KES 5 per SMS

Data: KES 14 per MB

Airtel (with Airtel Tz)

Calls made within: KES 12 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 35 per min

To receive a voice call: FREE

SMS: KES 17 to all destinations

Data: KES 69 per MB

Uganda

Safaricom (with MTN/ Vodafone)

Calls made within: KES 10 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 10 per min

To other countries: KES 85 per min

To receive voice call: FREE

SMS to all destinations: KES 7 per SMS

Data: KES 12 per MB

Airtel (with Airtel Uganda/MTN)

Calls made within: KES 9 per min

Calls to Kenya: KES 9 per min

To receive a voice call: FREE

SMS: KES 6 to all destinations

Data: KES 10 per MB

Clearly, the above charges are far from what you would call pocket-friendly, and service providers know it. In Europe, for example, there is a plan to get rid of roaming charges starting from 15 June. European subscribers stand to benefit from this move because they do not have to spend a fortune to foot roaming fees. It will be terrific to see the same move take root in other continents and the entire world.

Meanwhile, you should probably use app-based voice calls (Telegram, WhatsApp and Duo can make voice calls via internet) and chat applications while connected to Wi-Fi rather than spend an arm and a leg when abroad.

Tags: AirtelSafaricom
SendShare146Tweet92
Kenn Abuya

Kenn Abuya

Kenn Abuya is a friend of technology, with bias in enterprise and mobile tech. Share your thoughts, tips and hate mail at [email protected]

Related Posts

Kenya Safaricom share sale

Kenya Plans Mega Sale of Safaricom Shares to Raise Over a Billion Dollars

May 26, 2025
Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom lawsuit

Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom and CA Sued in Data Rollover Lawsuit

May 28, 2025
Safaricom launches revamped business loans

Safaricom Unveils Business Credit via M-PESA and Pochi Wallets

May 21, 2025
Safaricom Quickmart partnership

Safaricom 4G and 5G Routers Now Available at Quickmart Stores

May 17, 2025
Safaricom 5G for Business

How Safaricom 5G is Revolutionizing Enterprise Connectivity

May 17, 2025
Safaricom-IXAfrica-Centres-1

Safaricom Partners with iXAfrica to Build Region’s First AI-Ready Data Centre

May 17, 2025

Latest

digital-tv-standards-kenya

Kenya Sets New Rules for Digital TVs Starting Next Month

June 19, 2025
Kenya's Government Censors X for Global Image

Abductions and Arrests! Kenyan Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

June 19, 2025
drones-healthcare-delivery

Rural Kenya Is Turning to Drones to Speed Up Healthcare Delivery

June 18, 2025
TikTok

TikTok Could Go Dark (Again) in the U.S. This Week

June 17, 2025
whatsapp meta ads

Meta Officially Brings Ads to WhatsApp

June 17, 2025
Infinix Smart 10 HD

Infinix Launches the Smart 10 Series Lineup

June 16, 2025

Best devices

budget smartwatches 2025

Best Budget Smartwatches To Buy in Kenya 2025

February 13, 2025

Best Infinix Smartphones To Buy in Kenya 2024

February 13, 2025

Best Laptops for Battery Life in 2024

August 21, 2024

Best “Battery Warrior” Smartphones To Buy in 2024

August 22, 2024

Kenya Sets New Rules for Digital TVs Starting Next Month

June 19, 2025

Abductions and Arrests! Kenyan Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

June 19, 2025

Techweez is a fast growing influential source of technology news, reviews and analysis by leading tech geeks in the industry.

Follow Us

Editorials

Abductions and Arrests! Kenyan Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

Actors and Film Crews Are Worried About Veo 3 Taking Their Jobs

Samsung QLED TVs Now Officially Certified for Real Quantum Dot Technology

Trump’s Tariffs Will Be the End of Affordable Tech

5 Ways to Prep Your Tech for Resale

The Weaponization of PDFs: How Cybercriminals Are Exploiting a Trusted Format

More News

Infinix Wants to Fit a 5,160 mAh Battery in the Slim Hot 60 Pro+ Frame

U.S. Plans to Launch AI Hub for Government Agencies

Multichoice Subscriber Numbers Drop by 15% As Kenyans Cut Back on Spending

Huawei Surpasses Apple to Lead Global Wearables Market

Kenya Partners with US AI Firms to Co-Create National AI Policy with KICTANet

Creators Can Now Promote Videos Without Leaving YouTube Studio

  • Terms Of Use
  • Techweez Brand
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!

Hey there! Just a heads-up: we're big fans of cookies - both the digital and edible kind! 🍪 We use our cookies and some from third parties to ensure your browsing experience on our site is smooth sailing and secure.

 

But wait, there's more! We also use cookies to gather stats and insights on how you navigate our site. It's like getting a behind-the-scenes peek at your digital adventures!

 

Don't worry, you're in control. You can adjust your cookie settings anytime to suit your preferences. Feeling curious? Dive into our Privacy Policy for all the juicy details. Happy browsing! 🚀

Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
  • Automotive
  • Entertainment

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.