Mobile applications such as WhatsApp are killing multimedia messaging services in Kenya, says the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK).

In reference to the CCK’s latest quarterly report for the period July to September 2013, the number of multimedia messages dropped 11.9% from 2.5 million in the previous quarter to 2.2 million.

The drop, according the CCK, is owing to “competition from other similar services such as over the top messaging applications (e.g. WhatsApp) and the higher cost of the service compared to SMS.”

“Moreover, the relatively higher cost for MMS, whose billing system is predicated on the number of kilobytes sent hence making it more costly may have contributed to the low uptake of the service,” the regulator said.

Multimedia messaging has been set at high cost on Kenyan mobile networks, forcing smartphone owners to turn to services such as Viber and WhatsApp.