Kenya: Phone Calling Rates Expected to Fall Drastically

APA-Nairobi (Kenya) Telephone calling costs in Kenya are expected to drop drastically by early next year following the governmentÃ's agreement to license two new mobile phone operators - South African based Econet Wireless and Telkom Kenya which is partly owned by France Telecom.

Speaking in Nairobi on Wednesday, the permanent secretary in the ministry of information and communications, Bitange Ndemo, said the two operators will be licensed by September.

He said that would drastically reduce the cost of calling in the country, which he expects to drop to two shillings ($0.03) per minute by 2009.

He said the reduction of calling costs will also mean that an additional five million Kenyans, especially in the rural areas, will start using mobile phones by next year.

Safaricom currently dominates the market with its 10 million subscribers.

Posted to the site on 15th May 2008