The number of mobile subscribers accessing the internet through Telkom Kenya's Orange network rose by 2.4 per cent during the period between July and September 2012. This is according to quarterly statistics from industry regulator Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK).

According to the Commission's just released statistics for the July - September 2012 quarter, Orange's data subscribers rose from 674,255 subscribers - accounting for 8.8 per cent of the overall market share - in June 2012, to 948,847 subscribers, accounting for 11.2 per cent of the market, by end of September 2012.

Commenting on the report, company CEO Mickael Ghossein said: "We are proud to have achieved notable growth in mobile internet subscriptions. With our data service recognised as the best in the market, coupled with competitive deals to our customers on internet-enabled mobile devices and our unlimited data offer, our strategy is indeed working."

Ghossein attributed the increase to marketing initiatives and promotions which saw subscribers purchase data-enabled devices including smartphones and modems at discounted prices.

"We attribute this to consistent focus on our strategy to grow data as we offer great deals to our customers on internet-enabled mobile devices. Our quality of service is the best in the market as reported by CCK in its previous report while our unlimited offer is attractive to our subscribers," said Ghossein adding that the offers include the university students' modem offer and Huawei Gaga smartphone promotion.

In the period under review, Telkom Kenya - Orange saw a decline in its fixed internet subscriptions.

The CEO explained that the decline was due to a migration within the Orange network, that saw subscribers his was due to users migrating from fixed to mobile data adopt the company's mobile data offerings.

"The growth in our mobile data usage demonstrates that we can keep the migration from fixed to mobile Internet in-house, with our superior mobile data offering," said Mr. Ghossein.

Overall, the regulator's report states that by September 30, 2012, there were 8.5 million internet subscriptions up from 7.7 million recorded in the previous period, representing an increase of 10.2 percent during the quarter and a 56.9 percent increase, relative to the same period in the previous year.

Mobile data/internet subscriptions rose to 8.4 million during the period under review from 7.6 million in the previous period, posting an increase of 10.2 percent. This increase was unanticipated in light of the shut-down of counterfeit handsets in the country. Over the period under review, the country's mobile phone subscribers grew to over 30.4 million, translating to a mobile penetration rate of 77.2 per cent countrywide.