Safaricom introduces hourly internet purchase option for clients
Safaricom, Kenya's largest telecommunications company, has launched a new product named B-Live. This innovative offering aims to restore predictability in mobile internet costs for customers, addressing their frustration over data bundles depleting too quickly.
The new product, B-Live, allows users to buy mobile internet by the hour instead of traditional megabyte or gigabyte bundles. Prices for B-Live range from KES 20 ($0.16) for 1 hour to KES 150 ($1.16) for 6 hours.
Safaricom has disabled hotspotting on B-Live to ensure that the product's benefits are reserved for its intended users. Meanwhile, Airtel Kenya, Telkom Kenya, and Faiba price bundles remain volume-based and are cheaper per GB, but they do not offer a fully time-based mobile data product of this scale.
Safaricom's extensive network coverage backs B-Live. Its 4G network covers about 96% of Kenya, more than any rival. The company has spent years tuning its networks, adding spectrum at 700 and 900 MHz, densifying 4G sites, and testing 5G network slicing. This investment has enabled Safaricom to expand 5G coverage beyond major cities into rural areas, while Airtel's 5G remains concentrated in towns.
However, there is a risk that the same "fast depletion" complaints may resurface in a different form with the new B-Live product, due to a lack of transparency. A fair-usage policy is in place for B-Live, which may result in speed throttling for heavy users who exceed undisclosed thresholds. It's worth noting that Safaricom has previously applied a similar fair-usage policy to its fibre and 5G Wi-Fi services.
In other news, early bird tickets for the Moonshot event are 20% off. This event, organised by our website, is back in Lagos on October 15-16.
Safaricom and Airtel Kenya currently do not offer scalable products that provide customers data based on hourly usage instead of traditional megabyte or gigabyte packages. B-Live is Safaricom's boldest attempt yet to address this gap in the market and ease data depletion anxiety.
It's interesting to note that Airtel's hourly bundles are capped by data, while Faiba's self-care menu shows no uncapped time-based sessions. These investments strengthen the case for B-Live, but they also raise expectations about whether the new product will finally live up to its promise of predictable mobile internet costs.
Read also:
- Catastrophe at a U.S. Steel facility in Pennsylvania results in the loss of two lives. crucial details unveiled
- Manipulating Sympathy: Exploiting Victimhood for Personal Gain
- Auto Industry Updates: Geotab, C2A, Deloitte, NOVOSENSE, Soracom, and Panasonic in Focus
- Exploring Money-Making Opportunities in Digital Gaming Worlds
