As price wars continue to affect the telecom industry in Kenya, Telkom Kenya reported that it saw the number of users on its network rise, but at the same time its overall revenues dropped. Users for the mobile operator increased by nearly one million between August and December of last year, the company said. However, according to France Telecom – the parent company of Telkom Kenya – revenues declined by nearly $55 million for the previous fiscal year that ended on June 30. According to the company's data, the company had 1.6 million subscribers on its Orange Mobile unit as well as data and fixed line customers of 2.5 million. Those increases however, failed to translate into profits as the Kenyan market continues to be bombarded with price wars that see the price of data and voice calls continue to drop. Analysts, however, said on Monday that they believe the trend will reverse in the near future as more and more Kenyans get in the sector. “We should look longterm at the potential of having a country connected,” said Adam Williams, a British IT expert currently researching East African telecom markets. He added that “the prices will stabilize eventually and likely rise slightly and add this to the number of people now able to get a phone and be online, it could have great potential.” BM
