Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore (pictured) told media in Kenya his company had no intention of reducing its tariffs after rival Airtel Kenya revealed it was set to cut its cross-network call charges in half.

In his first press conference since returning from a lengthy leave of absence, the executive was quoted by national newspaper The Standard as saying he could “see a price war coming”.

He added by not reducing its rates it may lose market share, but described this as acceptable because the company had to “maintain a sustainable business”.

Airtel’s announcement it would slash the cost of calls made to other networks came days after a Kenyan parliamentary committee began investigating the level of competition in the country’s communications sector.

Last week, Collymore appeared before the panel to defended Safaricom against claims its dominant market position harmed competition in the country. His claims were later backed by the country’s communications authority.

Biometrics
During the Safaricom press conference, Collymore also revealed it was considering the introduction of biometric identity technology to combat fraud on its network.

Business Daily reported the operator was experimenting with technical solutions including fingerprint technology to secure key services. As part of its ongoing effort to beef-up security Safaricom is also in the process of putting a new framework in place to increase the level of data collected on customers.