NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 10 – Telkom Kenya on Tuesday announced a major shift of strategy to increase the number of Kenyan domestic internet users when it introduced new features that will enable customers use their Telkom Fixed headsets for both Internet access and voice service.
Known as the Telkom Fixed Bundle, the ability to split the single connection for both data and voice and at the simple act of connecting the cable to a computer brings the plug and play concept to life for the fixed line and is a first for this country.
This will enable home users and those who run small businesses from their homes with personal accounts to use the internet for long periods of time without the worry of running out of money.
While making the announcement, Telkom Kenya CEO, Mickael Ghossein, said that this was the first time that the land line phones will be dual purpose.
“All that the pre paid phone owner will need to do is buy a Telkom Fixed Line Bundle at Sh 2,000 and use the handset to both browse the Internet and make phone calls,” he explained.
“This service is designed to give users peace of mind especially for those who have children as they can be reached easily even when online. It also provides users with a mechanism for budgeting their expenditure between Internet usage and making voice calls,” he pointed out a parental control feature had been added to the service to maintain limits on the internet sites that children can visit.
He noted that Telkom Fixed remains a core part of Telkom’s convergence strategy to deepen penetration of residential, home offices and small and medium businesses across the country.
“We have established that fixed line services are still relevant here because they offer an affordable, high quality voice and data service delivery option and are often used to compliment and strengthen optical fibre cable and wireless telecommunications services,” said Mr Ghossen.
The affordable monthly charge also makes the service ideal for small home based businesses that stand to save up to 80 percent of their communication expenses when calling other Telkom fixed line customers and the ease of using the service is also a plus since no additional equipment is required.
