Essar Telecom Kenya is moving forward on an ambitious plan to increase its market share as the country sees growing competition battles for users in the country. The most recent effort by Essar's Yu brand is to offer free calls to Yu users from early morning to early evening in an effort to boost subscribers. Already, the move is being seen as an attempt to take on other operators, who have been battling over call price rates in recent months. The new promotion makes Yu arguably the most exciting operator for customers, who will have the opportunity to call other Yu users from 6 in the morning to 6 at night free of charge. Analysts say the move by Yu could be very lucrative in the long run as users are more likely to see the company as giving more benefits to customers on a daily basis. “Who wouldn't pass up the chance to call other users for free during the middle of the day? It could really hit other operators hard,” said one communications ministry official, who was not authorized to speak to the media. “The offer is absolutely free. There are no hidden charges or subscription charges per day. We take this seriously and our competitors should know that we are in the market to stay,” said Yu in a press statement. Yu had been stalling in terms of subscribers increases and this new promotion is likely to take the battle to the forefront with other telecom operators. BM
