When Telkom Kenya rebranded almost three months ago, it was clear that the company was aiming to recapture the market through mobile data. With the 4GForFree campaign that saw users get up to 1GB of data every day, coupled with the Free WhatsApp, it was hard for anyone to pass on such an offer and this is why in just two months, the ‘born-again’ telco had surpassed 3 million subscribers up from 2.8 million pre-rebrand.
With gears switched to mobile data, Telkom aims to attract the tech savvy demo in the society and 4G is one way to do so. Admittedly, 4G is still in its infancy in Kenya, with coverage only in specific parts of the country that are deemed to be urban but Telkom wants to be the driving force towards increased 4G consumption and consequently better 4G coverage. Evah Kimani, Head of Products and Services at Telkom Kenya says that the company’s strategy to pull in consumers to use 4G is pricing.
“The cost factor allows our customers to enjoy the 4G network, anywhere they are regardless of the device they are using,” said Ms. Kimani. Telkom offers affordable data prices for both home and smartphone use with speeds of up to 70Mbps on their 4G network, that Telkom says is sufficient enough for their consumers, “We looked at what our customers had been doing before and catered for 99.9%,” added Ms. Kimani.
Read More: Telkom Kenya Expands 4G Network Coverage to 28 Towns Across the Country
Telkom’s 4G space is not a wall of fame for data bundles and speeds only but the company also offers 4G ready smartphones at a discounted price and wifi routers for home consumption:
4G Phones
In a bid to push more users to 4G, Telkom has committed to selling quality, well-priced smartphones with a focus on battery life and screen size because, as Evah Kimani puts it, “that is what the young people are looking for”.
Speaking of 4G, Telkom’s 4G is available on Band 20 or what you might know as 800Mhz. However, this shouldn’t be a problem for anyone who picks up a device from one of the beautifully decorated Telkom brand shops that offer quite a range of devices ranging from high-end ones such as the Samsung Galaxy S8 at Ksh.85,699 and Huawei P10 at Ksh.66,299 to entry-level devices such as the TECNO W3 LTE at Ksh.8,999 that will attract the price-conscious.
Mi-Fi Routers
The crown jewel of Telkom’s 4G devices is their Mi-Fi portable router that retails at Ksh.5,999. The Huawei-made MiFi (Mobile Wi-Fi) device offers speeds of up to 150Mbps with a range of 150 metres at 2.4GHz. It can comfortably support 15 users simultaneously with a battery rating of 1500mAh that should last you around 6hrs of usage.
According to Ms. Evah Kimani, the Mi-Fi device is the perfect companion for anyone looking to enjoy 4G at home or on the move, especially for those looking to enjoy movies, series and other videos at home. “The shift is towards videos, people are consuming a lot of video content,” she said, and this is the philosophy behind Telkom’s 4G home offering. The device is small enough thus ensuring ease of portability, it is plug and play hence does not require any special skills to set up and use and it’s prepaid and thus offers the flexibility of choosing which data bundle suits your needs without locking yourself to contracts.
The Mi-Fi router comes with its own special batch of goodies including free 10GB data valid for a month. The Home data plans range from Ksh. 499 for a weekly 3GB bundle to Ksh. 3,999 for 30 days of unlimited internet, with such deals maybe you should consider letting Telkom move with you.
Read More: Telkom Kenya’s Home Data Plans Are Exciting For Customers Within 4G Zones
