Zuku, a subsidiary of the Wananchi Group Kenya has for long reigned at the market leader for fixed internet service provider in Kenya. However, in recent years, that position is under serious threat as new companies enter the market, including Safaricom Home fibre.
As a matter of fact, in recent years, competition in the fixed internet provider market has been so stiff, that Zuku as the market leader is ceding some grounds. Much of it is caused by tough competition from Safaricom fiber fixed internet service; which entered the market quite recently when compared to Zuku.
Most recent data by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) shows the market share held by Wananchi Group fell to 30.4% in June, down from 34.4% in March this year. Though the company still holds the title as the market leader, with at least 112,155 subscribers.
On the other hand, Safaricom’s market share for the fixed internet business grew to 21.2% in June, up from 19.4% in the last quarter. Much of this growth is attributed to an aggressive marketing campaign by Safaricom, whose subscribers number totals 78,104.
In third place is the Mawingu Networks, in which Microsoft has a 10% stake. Mawingu holds 21.1% of the market share. It is interesting to note that both Mawingu and Safaricom have registered growth in the fixed internet service business, while the market leader, Zuku (a subsidiary of Mwananchi) is ceding some grounds.
Wananchi Group is also being reported to be currently going through some turmoils caused by internal wrangles among the shareholders. And the Bloomberg reports that Wananchi is exploring its options for exiting the Kenyan market. It is believed to be currently engaging the service of a US consulting firm, Lizard Limited to work on the process of a possible sale of the firm. Though Zuku became a separate business from Wananchi for about ten years now.
But enough with the blurbs here is a bird’s eye view of the Kenyan fixed internet providers market share:
| Company | Market Share | Subscribers Numbers |
| Wananchi Group Kenya | 30.4% | 112,155 |
| Safaricom | 21.2% | 78,104 |
| Mawingu Networks Ltd. | 21.1% | 77,722 |
| Poa Internet Kenya | 7% | 25,810 |
| Internet Solutions | 2.6% | 15,227 |
| Liquid Telecom | 2.6% | 9,720 |
| Telkom Kenya | 4,178 | 1.1 |
Right now, the Kenya market video streaming market is burgeoning every waking day, and it is against that backdrop that fibre internet and terrestrial wireless data subscription has grown more than double.
“High-speed fibre subscription doubled… driven by high demand for high video definition streaming and increased competition among service providers. Fixed wireless data increased… this is mainly attributed to the increasing demand for availing Wi-Fi services… especially in public institutions and corporates,” reads in part the report by CA.
And in other News… Safaricom increases the cost of Phone Calls and SMS effective midnight today
Against the backdrop of the contemptuously passed Finance Bill 2018, where the government increased taxation on mobile phone calls and data, Safaricom has reviewed upwards its phone calls and SMS prices. They will become effective today at midnight.
The increased Excise Duty tax increased from 10% to 15% on Voice, SMS, and Data. That is on top of the Value Added Tax (VAT) already imposed on the mobile services at a 16% rate.
“We wish to notify our customers that from midnight tonight, the 18th October 2018, our headline price for voice calls and data will increase by 30% and SMS by 10%,” reads in part a press statement from Safaricom to news outlets.
The telecom also reviewed upwards, the prices for its Fibre-To-The-Building (FTTB) and Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) by 15%.