Focus Media (Kigali)
Sam Ruburika
10 January 2009
On the first day there was a stampede. On the second day the stampede intensified. Rwandatel had launched its new cell-phone service network and everyone wanted in.
Rwandatel is owned 70 percent by Lap Green, a Libyan telecommunication company that last year bought its majority shares in the country for US$100 million. The government of Rwanda owns 30 percent of the company.
The reaction when Rwandatel launched its GSM service was electric. Within 2 days flat Rwandatel had sold out its initial stock of SIM cards and had 50,000 subscribers. They were giving MTN Rwandacell a real run for its money.
This reporter passed by the UTC building on the first day of Rwandatel's launch. The Rwandatel shop was jam-packed with customers and others were spilling out all the way to the sidewalk. The MTN shop had only a handful of customers. This was the case at all other retail outlets. It must have panicked MTN management in Nyarutarama.
MTN will have to do something pretty fast to counter this onslaught now that it no longer enjoys monopoly of the market.
"This is very good news to us," said David Munyaneza, a new Rwandatel subscriber. "Now we have the first really low rates since we were introduced to the mobile technology."
The new subscribers of Rwandatel were excited over the new state of the art handsets, cheap airtime rates (a unit equivalent to a full minute costs Frw 80), a SIM card which automatically gives the new subscriber access to Frw 1000 worth of air time as well as acting as an entry ticket to the launching music festivities at the Amahoro stadium.
"We are employing market based strategies by conducting surveys where Rwandans told us what they want," said Rwandatel Public Relations and Promotions Manager, Cleophas Kabasiita.
She also pointed out that the same strategy was employed on details such as the choice of artists who were to entertain the public at the launching ceremony (these included famed stars such as Congolese musician Kofi Olomide, Jamaican Sean Paul and other regional and local stars).
Long queues of people were also waiting to purchase Rwandatel mobile phones as well as well as Rwandatel SIM cards. The city was filled with people donning orange T-shirts and caps, the corporate colors of Rwandatel.
The opinion has been that Rwandatel is too lightweight and does not have the required muscle to give MTN real competition. The impression was strengthened by Rwandatel's CDMA (phones with no SIM cards), as well as the year-long Tubirimo campaign that left the public anxious about what was taking long for Rwandatel to commence its GSM operation.
However the delay was worth it, according to many we talked to for this report. Not only will Rwandatel migrate subscribers of CDMA to GSM technology, it has also introduced the third generation (3G), which will enable video calls and allow callers identify locations of callers.
The Rwandatel handsets are "affordable" (the opinion of Lillian Kobusingye, another new Rwandatel subscriber). They also have many functions which include radio, camera, Bluetooth and other functions that allow the user to make video calls. "At 12,000 and 19,000 per handset, I think this is one of the best things that have happened to us," said Kobusingye.
The handsets also have a new feature known as "call me" which is specially designed for prepaid customers and it can be used when they run out of credit but need to make a voice call.
When a prepaid customer types the command for "call me" service the system sends an SMS to the entered phone number which informs the receiver there is a caller with no credit on his account.
In line with the Keep Kigali clean slogan Rwandatel has also introduced the electronic top up system says Kabasiita, the PR and Promotions Manager. Advantages she sites are this will help reduce the use of airtime cards, reduce shipping and storage costs as well as keep the city clean.
Apart from the phones, the company has also upgraded its internet systems to allow high speed access to data. The company is set to keep the landline phones which are regarded as the traditional way of doing business. "Our aim is to be as inclusive as possible and make sure that people get connected and stay connected," she said.
The Rwandatel promotion will take two months and Ms Kabasiita believes that with the affordable price for both SIM cards and handsets the public is going to be the clear winner.
She pointed out that there were many services in stores for the company's subscribers which she could not divulge yet.
According to Rwandatel CEO Patrick Kariningufu, Rwandatel's strategy is to serve the Rwandan first and foremost and that the company is keeping its ears to the ground for all possible feedback. The competition with MTN is something he sees in a positive light and something that will spur both companies to more innovation.
Currently the company has coverage in major towns across the country. However it plans to go beyond the major towns into the deep rural areas. "So far we have 75 base stations across the country but we expect to have in place 160 base stations by February next year," Kabasiita said.
She refuted the rumor that due to increase in sales of the handsets and SIM cards, Rwandatel had run out of stock saying that although the stock ran really fast during the first three days of the mobile phones hitting the streets phones are available, especially their 2G range.
On the streets Rwandatel handsets and SIM cards continue to sell like hotcakes. According to Pauline Uwimpuhwe, one of the vendors of the Rwandatel products, the demand is very high for both handsets and SIM cards. "On the first day I managed to sell about 100 phones and ran out of stock. The demand kept on increasing," said Uwimpuhwe. "People have a choice. They can buy handsets or the SIM card as they can be used in other phones," she added.
"I think people are pleasantly surprised. There is a network that cares for the people and it is in line with our catch phrase, Turikumwe," Ms Kabasiita added.
Having managed to bag 50,000 subscribers within the first two days Rwandatel now targets 600,000 subscribers by September 2009.
Focus attempted to get MTN to comment on the new developments but the company's management and PR staff were tight lipped. MTN Rwandacell Marketing and Promotions manager Yvonne Makolo would only comment that MTN welcomes competition as it believes it can only be healthy for the market.
Those who know MTN well however say it is only a matter of days before it launches the mother of all counterattacks.
These indeed are exciting times in the local telecommunications market.
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