In May last year, Orange launched Biashara Talk, a post-paid service targeted at Small office Home office (SoHo)customers and small businesses. Biashara Talk monthly bundles ranged from KES 1,000, to KES 10,000, all with 30-day validity periods.
In response to what the firm calls a stronger market demand, Orange has today extended the post-paid plan to all its Orange Mobile subscribers. Dubbed Orange Ongea, subscribers will choose the KSh1,000 or KSh3,000 monthly options to access Orange Mobile voice and data services.
“Our offering is one of the best in the market, taking into consideration our very competitive on-net and off-net call and SMS rates,” company CEO Vincent Lobry said.
The Orange Ongea Plan 1,000 will require a subscriber to place a deposit of KSh2,000 upon registration, while the Orange Ongea Plan 3,000 will see the subscriber place a KSh6,000 deposit. On-net and off-net calls will be charged at KSh2 and KSh3 respectively, while on-net and off-net SMS will be charged at KSh0.5 and KSh1 respectively. Data per MB will cost KSh 3 on the 1,000 Plan and KSh2 on the 3,000 Plan. Calls and SMS to international destinations are also included in the bundle. A customer will automatically be converted to the pre-paid offer once they exhaust their bundle and will be required to top-up to continue enjoying Orange Services.
“Orange continues to better its product and service offering to its customers as we continue with our customer acquisition and retention strategy,” says Lobry.
This move is aimed at helping Orange retain its customers, acquire more and even grow its market share asthe local telco market gets competitive with Equitel. Safaricom which had plans to discontinue its post-paid bundles recently made a u-turn to maintain the loss-making option to match its competitors offerings
According to the recent Communications Authority of Kenya’s Quarterly Sector Statistics Report, Orange’s growth strategy on market share is indeed working, making it one of the two telcos to record continuous growth. During the three-month period under review, Orange grew its market share to 9.2%, up from 8.3% recorded in the previous quarter.
“We remain committed to strengthening our business and these statistics confirm that we are moving in the right direction and most importantly that our strategic approach is indeed working,” adds Lobry.