sparkly wrote:@Iborian PROFITABILITY is the word. Safaricom is the only mobile operator in the green. There is no use of hogging all the subscribers if you can't break even. I think safaricom now has a critical mass of postpaid subscribers, data and mpesa users. The others are like rats, no loyalty to any particular network and not worth hussling for.
@sparkly - I guess I am one of the rats you refer to above. I spend clsoe to 1,000/= a month on voice calls alone so I am well above the average revenue per user for SCOM. I don't like being tied to a specific spend per month, so I don't like the idea of going for POSTPAID. If there are enough of us who feel aggrieved that our calls within the network are cheaper than those guys calling us from other networks, then for sure SCOM will feel the pinch.
I agree that SCOM has raised their rates to cushion profitability. SCOM however has a lot of fixed costs so if a large number of their subcribers (like me) reduce their spend that profitability could also be eroded. As to the other networks not being profitable, from a consumer's perspective, well, that's neither here nor there.
BTW, I still retain my SCOM number but I am no longer using it for voice. As for Data, I am OK with the SCOM High Speed connection (Black Modem)but that's only because my Orange High Speed 3G Modem has been performing at dial-up speeds. Apparently, there is some kind of black hole in my estate as far as Orange are concerned.