Hon. Raila switching to Airtel [Photo/political.co.ke]
I am not in marketing but I am into numbers. Numbers have driven 80% of the decisions I have made since discovering probability in High school and meeting the same topic later in University.
It is with such a background and trust in numbers that I say that Safaricom was enjoying a ride by overpricing their services. A boycott was only a matter of time! We were just too afraid of ditching the popular network.
From where I stand, Airtel's only mistake was of choosing the wrong color scheme: red/pink. Red does not ooze confidence and reliability. We can all agree that green is far more approachable than red/pink. Green oozes fertility and abundance.
So why is Airtel cheaper and good for us?
Firstly, calls within their network are free. That means more minutes talking to your wife, your mother, your girlfriend, your close friend and other important people. Calls outside the network are only 2 shillings per minute. Safaricom charges 4 shillings for that.
Secondly, the price of data bundles is low. For Kshs.300, you can get 1GB for 30 days. Safaricom charges 500 bob for that. You can also get 24GB for 3,000 with Airtel valid for 30 days. The same amount for the same time period will only get you 12GB at Safaricom.
Thirdly, Airtel money has been free since inception. Free to send money. Free to withdraw. Free to pay bills.
So what happens when you switch to Airtel?
You save! You save little by little. But the savings add up! 'Kidogo kidogo hujaza kibaba!'
Also, the urge to switch to Airtel by Baba will probably make Safaricom realize that it needs to cater more to their customers. Safaricom needs to drop their rates for calling, data, and MPesa.
Therefore the boycott is good for us 'little people'.
It will ignite a ‘price and services war’ between the networks which will benefit all customers. Mobile telecommunication services will become cheaper.