yuMobile outsources to Tata

TELECOMS

By Carole Kimutai, Nairobi, Kenya

Tata Communications, a global communications service provider, and Essar Telecom Kenya (yuMobile), a unit of Essar Group, have gone into a strategic sourcing agreement that will see yuMobile exclusively route all its international voice traffic through Tata Communications’ network. yuMobile is one of Kenya’s four mobile service providers with a subscriber base of four million.

The partnership will allow yuMobile to tap into Tata Communications’ voice infrastructure, enabling it to deliver higher quality international calls at competitive rates to customers in Kenya. Through yuMobile, Tata Communications will benefit from the increasing demand for high quality voice services in Africa generated by a rapid rise in the number of mobile subscribers on the continent.

Catherine Halsam, a wholesale telecoms analyst at Ovum commented, “Ovum’s research shows that there were about 550 million mobile connections in Africa at the end of 2010 and we expect this number to almost double to just shy of 1 billion by 2016. Africa’s rapid telecoms awakening is all about rising demand driven by the falling costs of mobile connectivity and improved coverage.”

Madhur Taneja, Kenya Country Manager, yuMobile says: “Working with Tata Communications ensures that we’re able to deliver the highest call service quality to our customers today, and in the future, as our subscriber base grows.  Having access to Tata Communications’ extensive global network and advanced voice traffic management tools allow us to focus on our core business and the latest mobile technology advancements, giving us the competitive edge in the booming African mobile market.”

Tata Communications’ strategic voice traffic outsourcing and advanced voice traffic management tools will allow yuMobile to minimise the administrative burden and operational costs associated with managing an international voice interconnect organisation. It will also enable the company to focus on its core business and capitalise on the key growth areas in the African market.   

yuMobile will benefit from Tata Communications’ scale and routing expertise as well competitive costs for international call termination. The cost structure will allow the company to roll out promotions to its customers without compromising on quality. Working with Tata Communications also eliminates the financial risks that could occur due to misroutes and the improper code and cost management associated with managing international voice.