Flashcom reduces rates and launches free calls

Flashcom has reduced rates by up to 50% and is providing free calls to its subscribers every evening from 10pm to 6am

Nairobi September 15 2007…
In keeping with Flashcom's goal of providing the most affordable and reliable telecommunications service in Kenya, we are pleased to announce a number of initiatives. The first is a downward review of various rates of between 7% & 50% effective 15th September 2007. Postpaid customers can now call Safaricom and Celtel at KShs 12.00 per minute exclusive of taxes, which is a reduction of 25% from the previous rate of KShs 16.00 per minute. Prepaid customers will now pay Kshs 14.00 per minute inclusive of taxes for the same calls, which is a reduction of 13% from the previous rate.

Postpaid customers will now pay KShs 10.00 per minute exclusive of taxes for International calls to USA, Europe, Canada, South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, South Korea and Russia which is a reduction of 17% from the previous rate of KShs 12.00. Prepaid customers can call the same destinations at KShs 14.00 and KShs 12.00 per minute, inclusive of taxes for peak and off-peak calls respectively.

We also announce a special 3 month promotion for all Flashcom customers irrespective of their tariff or account balance where they will be able to make FREE Flashcom to Flashcom calls within all of Nairobi between 10pm and 6am daily. The main aim of this promotion is to stimulate growth of telephony and Internet access in the residential market. "By allowing free calls we are giving people the opportunity to rediscover the art of conversation. Due to the high costs of telephony, most people keep their conversations to the bare minimum sacrificing the usual niceties such as hello and goodbye," says Flashcom CEO Robert Kariuki Mugo.

He pointed out that the average mobile call is less than 1 minute, which is very little time to say anything. Kenyans are very social and like to talk, therefore this new concept will allow us to be our true selves and talk for as long as we want. Life has become very fast paced and everyone is busy therefore the only way to catch up with friends and family is through the telephone. "This is what we want to facilitate" he said.

Whereas 10 years ago a telephone line was a common feature in the average household, today there are very few left. This is because the fixed line has been replaced by the mobile phone. However, mobile telephony is quite expensive and the mobile phone is a personal device. There is still a need for an affordable and reliable shared telephone in the house. The shared house phone also working parents to keep track of what is happening in the home while they are away. The phone can be used for communication with young children or domestic workers. "When communicating with a domestic worker on a mobile phone, they could be anywhere. However, the fixed wireless phone is not easy to carry around therefore, when you call it you are sure that it is still in the house," says Mugo.

With the advent of the Internet age, the shared household line is much more important as the new fixed wireless phones provide high speed Internet access. The Internet is a great tool for information sharing whether this is for educational purposes or leisure. Some schools actually give their students assignments that require Internet access. As such these students need an Internet connection at home as cyber cafes are not appropriate in this scenario. Another example of application of the Internet is employment and recruitment. Many job advertisements nowadays can only be responded to via email therefore prospective employees need Internet access at home. In order to facilitate Internet use in the home, Flashcom has introduced the Konekt Bronze 30 Internet bundle whereby for KShs 2,500 excluding taxes, one can access the Internet for 30 hours every month which works out to 1 hour of Internet a day. For heavier Internet users Flashcom is offering Konekt Data 50, Konekt Silver 70 and Konekt Gold 90 which offer 50, 70 and 90 hours of Internet access a month, respectively.

The cost of CDMA phones has been a barrier to the growth of subscribers. In order to address this Flashcom has introduced an equipment rental scheme for postpaid customers who sign up to a 1 year contract. The rental fee for the equipment will be KShs 500 per month. For customers who have monthly billing of over KShs 5,000 (excluding taxes) per month, we shall waive the monthly equipment rental fee. However, customers who prefer to purchase and own the equipment can also do so at between KShs 3,499 and 11,999 excluding taxes.

Our call rates are the lowest in the market. Flashcom to Flashcom calls are charged at KShs 4.00 per minute, to landline is 5.50Kshs the customer makes 21% savings when calling on our network, to mobile is 14Kshs allowing the customer to make 37% savings and international calls are charged from 10Kshs providing for 60% savings and the calls are all billed per second and in addition to having the lowest rates in the market, we also provide a bundle of attractive rates to all the networks." Robert added. Robert said "Our key vision is to provide affordable telecommunication service to our customers. We have been able to successfully provide this by offering the lowest rates in the market thus the concept of Let your money talk longer "

With the Flashcom rates, a customer is able to talk twice as much and hold longer business and social conversations, without worrying about their call getting cut, so they keep the customer in communication all the time and they get to make affordable calls through out, the customer is able to talk more for less while enjoying convenience and excellent voice quality by making calls directly from their phone.
Flashcom is a new telephone network that provides telephone, Internet Access, SMS, and Fax services. Flashcom was established in 2004 as the first private wireless local loop operator. The company is 100 per cent locally owned by investors who have responded to the government's initiative for local participation in the development of Kenya's telecommunications infrastructure. And towards this end, Flashcom, whose mission is to provide the most affordable and reliable telecommunication service to its customers, has partnered with leading a global telecommunications equipment supplier and established a world-class telecommunications network. Flashcom won the Best Local Loop Operator 2006 award from the Computer Society of Kenya at their 11th Annual Awards.