Kenya phone companies told to cut costs |
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Thu, 22 Feb 2007 17:39
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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Kenya's phone companies must cut calling costs to mobile phones so they are more affordable to the public, the industry regulator said Thursday.The number of mobile phones in Kenya has boomed in the last five years from 640,000 to around 6.5 million, as it can take months to have a fixed line installed. Poor infrastructure also means land lines do not always work properly.Prices for calls between fixed and mobile lines are to be cut by 57 percent, and between two mobile phones by 23 percent, Communications Commission of Kenya said. The new prices come into effect March 1.The commission also plans in July to set price caps for various services of state-owned Telkom Kenya, director general John Waweru said.'We believe that this new pricing network will stimulate competition and facilitate the delivery of quality and affordable services to Kenyans,' Waweru said at the news conference also attended by representatives of the phone companies.Africa is the world's fastest-growing mobile phone market, according to a report by Informa, a telecoms analysis company. There are more than 100 million mobiles in use on the continent -- or one for every nine Africans -- up from 8 million subscribers at the start of 2000.Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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