Mobile operators to cash in on Valentine’s Day promotions

Rwanda’s mobile operators have launched promotional packages involving lower priced phones and call tariffs as they try to cash in on the Valentine’s Day. MTN Rwanda is offering two phones at Rwf15,000. It has also slashed the Short Message Service (SMS) tariffs by 50 percent to Rwf15 while the Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) tariffs were reduced to Rwf30 all day on MTN subscribers only.

Friday, February 12, 2010
Telecom mast: The competition in the industry has led to increased investment into the infrastructure network. (file photo)

Rwanda’s mobile operators have launched promotional packages involving lower priced phones and call tariffs as they try to cash in on the Valentine’s Day.

MTN Rwanda is offering two phones at Rwf15,000. It has also slashed the Short Message Service (SMS) tariffs by 50 percent to Rwf15 while the Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) tariffs were reduced to Rwf30 all day on MTN subscribers only.

Rwandatel has introduced a "Free SMS” package on Rwandatel to Rwandatel network for all subscribers starting  February 12 to Monday February 15.

Subscribers will be able to enjoy this service from 6:00 pm to 6:00pm  The Lap Green subsidiary is also offering two ‘Akanyenyeri phones’ to be won every day via radio show competitions  per radio station participating.

It has also offered gift hampers that will be presented to the top 10 GSM high usage subscribers.

New kid on the block, Tigo, has slashed SMS fares on Tigo to Tigo to Rwf10 starting from February 12 to February 14. 
Late last year, Rwandatel introduced "Enjoy FREE talk from 6 to 6”.

With the promotion, a caller can make unlimited calls every day from 6 am to 6 pm for only Rwf500.

The biggest operator in terms of market size, MTN Rwanda, mantained  its Christmas promotion of ‘Save amafaraga’ were a subscriber can call for as low as Rwf0.18 per second but restricted only to MTN to MTN calls.

The other tariffs which are prescribed within the ‘MTN Zone’ facility start with a 25 percent price reduction depending on where a subscriber is calling from.

Tigo introduced ‘Start Saving Now’ with the Tigo International Rates promotion.

In the promotion, regional (East Africa  and DRC) calls were put at Rwf2, the rest of Africa Rwf2.75 and  US and Canada at Rwf2.25. 

Tigo also introduced the ‘Tigo makes school cool’ package which requires a customer to buy a Tigo Mifone at Rwf12,700 and get a super cool Tigo bag.

The price wars by the telecom industry are a result of the increasing competition in the industry.

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