Analysis of multi-SIM behaviour in Tanzania’s telecom market using binary logit model

Abstract

This paper examines factors for multi-SIMs usage in the mobile services, and its economic implications to mobile operators in Tanzania. A random sample of 288 mobile phones subscribers from six mobile operators were included in the study. The study used binary logit model to estimate drivers for multi-SIMs usage, with marginal effects calculated to indicate appropriately the probabilities of usage for individual parameters used in the model. The findings showed that differences in perceiving quality of services and product differentiation are the main drivers for multi-SIMs usage. Multi-SIMs users are satisfied with multiple operators as no one operator provides a combination of their communication needs successfully. Also, customer-care related reasons like inaccessibility of sim swap raises customer’s SIM multiplicity. The behaviour of customers to own multiple SIM cards increases the level of customer spending to multiple operators and reduces customer’s profitability. This demands that network managements improve network quality, promotional activity, and customer care to win customers’ share of usage.