Airtel Kenya is set to be the first telco to roll out new prefix number series 0100, 0101 and 0102 to their customers following the announcement by the industry regulator Communication Authority of Kenya (CA).
Airtel customers will now be able to make their selection of their preferred numbers from the 0100, 0101 and 0102 series which are now available.
The new prefix numbers were launched by the CA in May 2019 when the Authority’s Director General Francis Wangusi explained that the new prefix was necessitated by increased demand for SIM cards, mobile data and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, stating that the leading telecommunication companies had already been issued with five million numbers under the new prefix.
The latest CA Sector statistics report for the quarter January to March 2019 show that internet access and mobile penetration have grown, with the latter surpassing the 100% mark. The report also highlights that Airtel customers currently stand at 13.3 million, up from 11.6 million customers in the previous quarter under review. Therefore, the roll out of the new prefix numbers will address the increase in demand for SIM cards, access to data services and other technological advancements.
Airtel Kenya CEO Prasanta Das Sarma, had this to say, “We are glad to be the first telco to roll out the new prefix numbers and we urge Kenyans looking for new connections to visit any of our SIM selling outlets or Airtel shops and get their new numbers. The new Airtel numbers will be 4G enabled thus allowing customers to continue enjoying the wide array of data products and services.”