The statistic, which weeds out the impact of multiple SIM cards ownership in assessing mobile penetration, has been published by Airtel Africa, which operates in Kenya and other regional markets.
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) counts multiple SIM cards in a process that saw it place the country’s mobile uptake at 114.8 percent in the quarter ended December 2019.
The finding shows the extent of multiple SIM card ownership, which has been attributed to subscribers seeking to benefit from lower prices by rival telecommunications firms.
“Mobile (SIM) penetration in the country remains high partly due to multiple SIM ownership by consumers,” CA said in its report for the quarter ended December 2019.
Safaricom #ticker:SCOM, Airtel and Telkom Kenya have many different permanent and temporary offerings across voice, data, mobile money and messaging services, with consumers buying multiple SIM cards from the rivals for use when it suits them.
