Kenya Mobile Phones

Currently there are only 2 licenced Mobile phone service providers namely Zain and Safaricom. A third mobile provider - Econet Wireless is soon to be rolled out in the Kenyan Market.

Safaricom has the largest number of subscribers. This can be attributed to it's many tarrifs which give Kenyan's the opportunity to select the most convenient tarrif depending on one's requirement. However, Zain boasts of having the most clear network with little congestion. Sometimes, especially on Friday evenings, it is hard to get through on a Safaricom line due to congestion.

Mobile phone theft has been very rampant in Kenya. To curb this the 2 providers have requested all mobile owners to submit their mobile phone serial number to the dealers. You get this number by dialling *#06#. If your phone is stolen, please inform the dealers who will render that serial number ineffective. Though you may never recover the phone, it is assumed this will discourage phone theft as the set will not be useful to the person who stole it.

Landlines

STD service is available to the main cities. Country code: 254 (followed by 20 for Nairobi, 41 for Mombasa etc). Outgoing international code is 000. International calls can sometimes be made direct or operator-assisted by dialling 0196. Public telephones which work with coins or with phone cards are readily available in the major towns. Major hotels also offer a phone service, but they usually charge much more than the providers.

Most Tour Companies have radio call equipments fitted to their vehicles for communication when in the very remote areas like National Parks, etc..