More Rwandans could soon start using Internet services following a reduction in data rates by mobile phone telecom operator, Airtel Rwanda. The firm, in a campaign dubbed ‘Switch-On’, will charge subscribers Rwf50 for the daily pack, Rwf1,000 weekly and Rwf10,000 for the monthly pack, a move that is aimed at deepening access to Internet services and woo more data users, Teddy Bhullar, Airtel Rwanda managing director, said. “We revised the data fees downwards to ease access to Internet services and increase the level of Internet penetration in the country,” he said at the launch of the drive in Kigali on Tuesday. According March statistics from the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (Rura), there are a total of 2,311,855 Internet users in Rwanda, with the majority of people using mobile Internet services provided by the three local telecom firms. Airtel, which is the last telecom firm to enter the local market, still lags behind MTN and Tigo in terms of Internet subscribers. The firm has a total of 313,849 Internet users as of March 31, 2014, while Tigo and MTN have 1,043,319 and 952,266 subscribers, respectively, according to Rura statistics.
