Airtel Loses Bid to Block Safaricom’s Low Call Tariffs as Competition Authority Closes Case

By Robai Ludenyi

Airtel Kenya has suffered a major setback after the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) dismissed its complaint against Safaricom over discounted voice call charges, allowing the country’s largest telecommunications company to continue offering promotional tariffs that had sparked a fierce dispute between the two rivals. The decision marks another chapter in the long-running battle for dominance in Kenya’s highly competitive telecom sector.

The dispute centered on Safaricom’s promotional voice offers, which allowed some customers to make calls at rates ranging between Sh0.10 and Sh0.30 per minute. Airtel argued that these prices were unfair because they fell below the country’s mobile termination rate (MTR) of Sh0.41 per minute. The MTR is the fee one mobile operator pays another whenever a customer makes a call to a different network. According to Airtel, charging customers less than this rate amounted to predatory pricing and made it difficult for smaller operators to compete fairly.

In its complaint, Airtel claimed Safaricom was using its dominant position in the market to offer prices that competitors could not realistically match without making losses. The company maintained that such pricing could push rivals out of the market before allowing the dominant player to increase prices later after weakening competition. This practice, commonly known as predatory pricing, is prohibited under competition laws because it can reduce consumer choice in the long run.

However, after reviewing the matter, the Competition Authority found that Safaricom had not violated competition laws. The regulator noted that the discounted voice packages were offered within the period allowed by the Kenya Information and Communications Act and related regulations. The rules permit telecommunications companies to run promotional tariffs for up to 90 days, after which they must wait at least three months before repeating the same promotion. Since Safaricom’s campaign complied with these requirements, the authority concluded there was no legal basis to take action and officially closed the case.

The complaint specifically targeted Safaricom’s Ofa Moto and Tunukiwa promotional offers, which gave subscribers discounted calling packages such as 100 minutes for Sh10 until midnight, 30 minutes for Sh10, 60 minutes for Sh20, and in some cases unlimited calls within a one-hour period for Sh20. Airtel insisted that these offers distorted competition by setting retail prices below the cost operators incur when handling cross-network calls.

The ruling is another disappointment for Airtel, which has repeatedly urged regulators to impose stricter oversight on Safaricom because of its large market share. Airtel has for years argued that Safaricom enjoys significant advantages that allow it to introduce aggressive promotions without facing the same financial pressure experienced by smaller competitors. Despite those concerns, both the Competition Authority and the Communications Authority have consistently maintained that they have not found evidence proving Safaricom has abused its market position.

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