Safaricom slashes Airtimes cost

Safaricom reduced its cost of airtime reversing a price increase that was implemented in July 2021 following the adjustment of Excise Duty on Airtime and Telephone Services.

The revamp will see the Telco’s monthly plans for its PostPay and All-in-One plans consolidated under the Go Monthly proposition, with customers set to enjoy lower prices.

The government imposed a higher tax last year, through the Finance Act, 2020, in a bid to collect at least Sh8 billion in extra revenues from Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom Kenya.

The move saw the Excise Duty on Airtime and Telephone Services increase from 15percent to 20 percent.

“By consolidating our monthly plans, we seek to simplify our product offering while enabling our customers to enjoy a digital lifestyle in an affordable manner,” said Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa.

The revised pricing will see the Go Monthly 1K plan go for Sh1,000, down from Sh1050.

The 2K plan will go for SH 2,000 down from Sh2,100 with the 3K plan going for Sh 3,000 down from SH 3,150, 5K plan for Sh5,000 down from 5,200 respectively.

The 10K plan on the other hand will go for Sh 10,000, down from SH 10,430.

As part of the revamp, the plans will have a validity of 30 days, and only data will roll over upon renewal of PostPay or purchase of another monthly bundle.

Safaricom is also planning to introduce a device bundling option that will enable Go Monthly customers to acquire 4G and 5G smartphones via a monthly repayment plan inclusive of data, voice, and SMS bundles.