This week MTN followed the footsteps of Safaricom and announced three package data bundles that never expire. IT gurus in some WhatsApp groups I belong have called these bundles “Totally crap from MTN Uganda, and this is just broad day theft from Uganda Citizens.” For starters how long would a 6 Mb bundle last before its depleted?
When Safaricom implemented their never expiring bundles, they actually changed this for all it’s data Bundles, they didn’t create new separate bundles like MTN Uganda is doing and so people actually find them pretty expensive and a raw deal. It seems MTN has crafted the bundles in a way that they get depleted before you even think of expiry.
If MTN really wanted to make it a game changer, they need to make all bundles not bound by time. This new offer has been seen by some pundits as a “joke for people whose business runs on data.“
MTN Vs Safaricom
On the other-side, MTN could have a good reason why they rolled-out these non expiring bundles for a low as UGX 100 or UGX 1,000 for 6 MB and 80 MB respectively. Until you see user behavior data, and have access to real user insights, it would be good to avoid such sweeping statements that “this is just broad day theft from Uganda Citizens.” To maximize profits, MTN cannot afford to just copy and paste just because Safaricom in Kenya did so. MTN is not comparable to Safaricom when we talk about internet access and policy reviews for the past 5 years in regards to effective and efficient distribution of Internet connection and that is not limited to data Bundles.
It is clear that Safaricom operates under different set of rules and space unlike MTN Uganda. Safaricom seems to be a vehicle for the Kenyan government to drive your said internet adoption and distribution. MTN not so much.
The low none-expiring data bundles will sell more
One would be blown away to find out that Telecom companies make more money from customers who buy the low 15 MBs (and renew up to 10 times a day) than people who buy a large bundle. According to the same IT gurus in that WhatsApp group one said that; “Exactly and that’s why some people already said it’s a mockery to launch something ridiculous such as this so called Freedom data Bundles that don’t expire, it’s just to please the public and yet in actual sense they could be cheating the wanainchi big time.” Let’s wait and see what the rest of the telecom companies have to offer but for now, some people feel the legal teams have to do something about that.
At the end of the day, MTN had to make a trade off. Ugandans behavior– explains why products like Waragi (alcohol), detergent, sugar and cooking oil still moves in sachets and why people still buy a ‘piece’ of soap, not a bar! This same this happened when scratch cards were introduced in lower denomination. It’s just how we wanainchi prefer to buy and if the other players step up with their own none expiring bundles, perhaps competition will drive it towards more desirable. But these low data bundles are largely skewed to the boda boda guy who just wants to be on to get a ride, then goes off. Or the a university student who wants to see WhatsApp and browse free Facebook. Not your typical middle class user!
Mini Poll
Excerpts for this article have been inspired by ICT WhatsApp group users.
