Mobile Phone Wars

Mobile phone services provider ZAIN sent shockwaves through the mobile telephone market in Kenya after it unveiled the lowest ever tarrifs since the arrival of mobile phones services in the country. In what could yet prove to be a turning point in the mobile telephone industry, ZAIN which was recently acquired by Bharti Airtel of India announced that all its subscribers would be charged 3 shillings per minute for calls across all networks while the short messaging service would cost a basement rate of one shilling per message across all networks. And while describing the new ZAIN approach as unsustainable, market leader Safaricom which has over 12 million registered subscribers said it was confident that Kenyans would continue enjoying affordable and quality services through its network. Terryane Chebet has that headline story.