Kenya's mobile-phone users continued to rise for the fourth consecutive quart. According to the Communications Commission in the country, at least four quarters in the three months through September have seen massive growth and the fastest the country has ever witnessed. The number of users increased 9.5 percent to 22 million in the third quarter of 2010, the Nairobi-based commission said on its website today. In the three months through June, user numbers increased 1 percent, and rose 2.6 percent and 8.4 percent in the two preceding quarters, according to data compiled by the commission. Kenya's telecommunications regulator in August ordered mobile-phone operators to halve the rates they charge each other to transmit calls across networks. “Mobile tariffs reduced significantly over the quarter registering an average of 2.65 shillings ($0.03) for on-network calls per minute from 4.78 shillings per minute in the previous period,” the commission said. During the quarter, Airtel Kenya Ltd., the domestic unit of Delhi-based Bharti Airtel Ltd., grew its market share to 13.5 percent, or 1.14 million users, from 9.1 percent in the previous three months. Telkom Kenya Ltd., a unit of France Telecom SA, expanded its market share to 4 percent, or 323,298 users, from 2.7 percent, the commission said. BM