Airtel has launched revamped mobile data bundles at a 50% discount to Safaricom's bundles, while also matching Safaricom’s pricing for no expiry bundles that were launched a little over a month ago. This competitive pricing environment could delay mobile data recovery.
Airtel Kenya yesterday launched data bundles with no expiry, matching Safaricom's move of a month ago. In addition, Airtel revamped its limited mobile data bundles, placing its pricing at a 50% discount to Safaricom's (on which we have a Hold) data bundles in a bid to gain market share.
| Price point in KES | Safaricom data bundle | Airtel data bundle |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | 2.5GB | 5GB |
| 1000 | 5GB | 12GB |
| 2000 | 15GB | 30GB |
| 3000 | 25GB | 50GB |
Referencing reported statistics from the Communications Authority (CA), Safaricom has lost 10 ppts of mobile data market share over the last two years to March 2019. While there has been notable stability in subscription market share, we remain concerned that Airtel's sustained price wars may delay mobile data recovery.
| Subscriber market share | Jun-18 | Sep-18 | Dec-18 | Mar-19 | Jun-19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safaricom | 65% | 64% | 63% | 62% | 63% |
| Airtel | 21% | 22% | 23% | 26% | 25% |
| Telkom | 9% | 9% | 9% | 8% | 8% |