Internet Solutions (IS), formerly Access Kenya Group, will offer consumption-based billing for businesses as opposed to the traditional fixed billing.

The Internet firm is piloting the service that will see businesses pay as per their usage, cutting down on extra costs experienced during down time and off-peak seasons.

“Bandwidth is widely considered a utility like power and water, and users want it where and when they need it,” explained Richard Henchle, the Managing Director for Internet Solutions. “Enterprises are demanding convenience and flexible consumption models that respond to their needs,” he explained.

The firm is looking to disrupt the market in a similar fashion that Safaricom’s per second billing did to the pricing of voice calls more than 20 years ago. “Our clients are corporate entities whose levels of bandwidth consumption is often fluctuating with peak demand during the day and low use at night,” he explained. “Billing them on a consumption basis allows them to better utilize their resources and only pay for what they use, translating to more value.”

Many companies are using video-based training and unified communications technologies, like Skype, for meetings. And as technologies like the Internet of Things become more prevalent in Kenya, more gadgets will be connected to the Web. At the same time, demand for broadband among SMEs is witnessing steady growth, as more service providers unveil innovative and flexible data packages.