Safaricom customers from today will pay higher prices as the company has announced an increase in call, data and SMS rates. This is as a result of the Excise Duty tax imposed on consumers after the passing of the Finance Act and comes barely 2 months after Safaricom reduced its internet rates.
It was only a matter of time before reality set in for Safaricom users. Through a statement from the company’s CEO, Bob Collymore, he stated that the move came after extensive talks and deliberation with the government.
He says, “We have since been undertaking extensive engagement with the Government on the impact, timing and exact nature of the services that these taxes will affect.”
The new rates are effective from 18th October 2018. Call and data rates will go up by 30 cents while SMS rates will go up by 10cents. Additionally, the company has reviewed their prices for Fibre-To-The-Building (FTTB) and Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) which will also be affected by the 15pc Excise Duty tax on internet services
Safaricom joins other telecommunication companies such as Zuku and Jamii Telcom in increases its service rates. These are Safaricom’s new rates.
Uwezo Tariff
Pre-pay customers on the Uwezo Tariff will pay the following for calls and text messages.
Call rates
| Time Band | On-net Rate | Off-net Rate |
| 08h00-22h00 | KSHs.4.3 | KSHs.4.3 |
| 22h00-08h00 | KSHs.2.2 | KSHs.2.2 |
SMS Rates
| Brand | Tariff | On-net Rate/ Min | Off-net Rate/ Min | SMS bundle – 10 SMS | SMS bundle – 200 SMS | SMS bundle – 500 SMS |
| PrePay | Uwezo | KSHs.1.1 | KSHs.1.1 | KSHs.5.00 | KSHs.10.00 | KSHs.20.00 |
Post-Pay
Postpaid customers will also pay extra to make calls and send text messages. These are the call and SMS rates for Post-Pay services.
Call Rates
| Brand | Tariff | On-Net Rate/min | Off-Net Rate/min | |
| Peak 8am-10pm | Off Peak 10pm-8am | All Day | ||
| PostPay | Advantage Plus PostPay | 4.00 | 2.00 | 4.00 |
SMS Rates
| Brand | Tariff | On-Net Rate/min | Off-Net Rate/min | SMS Bundle – 10 SMS | SMS Bundle -200 SMS | SMS Bundle – 500 SMS |
| PostPay | Advantage Plus PostPay | 1.00 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 10.00 | 20.00 |
| PostPay | PostPay 1,000 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 10.00 | 20.00 |
| PostPay | PostPay 2,500 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 5.00 | 10.00 | 20.00 |
The company also announced new Mpesa rates back in June following the prevailing Value Added Tax of 16% applicable to mobile services. It’s safe to say, things are not getting any better for consumers in Kenya.
Speaking of Safaricom, check out #TuendeleeKuchat: Safaricom Rolls Out New Data Bundles Plan Including Free WhatsApp
Featured image from femmehub.com
