Communications in Kenya

Mobile Phone

The cost of using your UK mobile in Kenya is prohibitive. This isn’t a problem as you can pick up a cheap PAYG Kenya SIM at your arrival airport and use it in your existing phone.

Before you travel you need to make sure your mobile phone is unlocked. Here are the steps in the order you need to do them :

• If you have a phone you bought from new outright from a third party (eg: Amazon) the phone will almost always be unlocked.
• If you bought your phone from your mobile network provider (eg: Vodafone), it may be locked.
• If you are on a pay monthly contract that includes providing you with your phone your phone may be locked.

• If you think your phone may be locked contact your network provider and ask them if it is locked, and if it is, ask them to unlock it. In most cases unlocking is done free of charge.
• More details can be found below:
  • EE
  • O2
  • Tesco
  • Three
  • Virgin
  • Vodafone
  • Giffgaff      Do not lock phones.
• If you want to test if your phone is unlocked you can  get a GiffGaff sim card for free. When you get the SIM insert it into your phone and see if it says GiffGaff or Blocked. If it does not say Giffgaff your phone is locked and needs unlocking.
• It can take up to 2 weeks for your network provider to unlock your phone so do this well before you travel.

Whilst traveling you will still want to receive phone calls made to your UK mobile number, however you will not want to pay the high International call costs that UK Network providers charge (up to £2 per minute).

The simplest way to do this is to pick up a free Net-Telco Number. The way this works:

• Go to Net-Telco and pick up a free 03 number, then top up with call credit (This will cost you £10+VAT with Net-Telco the call credit does not expire).
• You set your mobile number to forward to your Net-Telco number (forwarded calls to a UK 03 Number are included in your Network providers bundle).
• You set your Net-Telco number to forward to your Kenya Mobile number (You can do this via the web once you have bought your sim when you arrive in Kenya). Cost of calls to Kenya from your Net-Telco number is 16p per minute.
• If you are expecting to receive a lot of calls whilst in Kenya, or need to call a lot of UK destinations, you might consider putting the Zoiper application on your phone. This would allow you to receive calls via VoIP free of charge and make low cost UK calls. To make and receive VoIP calls you will need  good WIFI or G3/G4 connectivity).  The Net-Telco web page gives you more details.
• Please be aware Net-Telco is a business I set up and use to manage, I still have shares in the parent business.

When you arrive at the airport in Kenya just look for a Safaricom shop. They will sell you a SIM with call and data credit/package. You will need your passport to register the SIM (A Kenya requirement) also get them to register you for M-pesa (See our section on Money).

Unless you intend to make lots of calls, just use call credit rather than a package. Calling the UK using your Safaricom SIM is 18 KES (14p) per minute. Calling within Kenya is 4.3 KES (3p) per minute. Texts within Kenya are KES 1.1 (0.7p) and to UK KES 10 (7p).

You only need load your phone with a small amount of credit, say KES 100 (£0.73) as you can add credit to your phone from your M-pesa account on your handset. See our section on money.

I would recommend getting a data package if you intend to use the internet whilst in Kenya. Data packages are available in 2GB 500 KES (£4), 5GB 1,000 KES (£8) and 15GB 2,000 KES (£16) and 25GB for KES 3,000 (£24). Have a look at how much data you use in the UK to give yourself an idea as to how much you will need in Kenya.

WIFI

WIFI is available at most lodges/camps and of course in hotels in the cities, however you might find that the mobile data is better than the WIFI. Please see the individual entries for the hotels, lodges and camps we stayed in.