Internet Access Services in Kenya
Introduction
Kenya has one of Africa’s more advanced internet markets, but access remains uneven. As of early 2024, roughly 22.7 million Kenyans were using the internet (about 40.8% penetration) datareportal.com. Mobile broadband is the primary mode of access, given high mobile phone penetration, while fixed broadband subscriptions are growing steadily. The government envisions a “digital economy” and has invested in ICT infrastructure, yet a significant digital divide persists between urban and rural regions businessdailyafrica.com. This report provides a detailed overview of Kenya’s internet services landscape – covering major providers, infrastructure and coverage, service speeds and pricing, regulatory environment, and ongoing developments in broadband, mobile, and satellite connectivity.
Major Internet Service Providers and Market Share
Kenya’s internet service provider (ISP) market includes both mobile network operators and fixed broadband companies. Safaricom, the leading mobile operator, also dominates in fixed internet with a 36.4% market share (545,812 fixed subscriptions as of mid-2024) tuko.co.ke. Other major players in fixed broadband are Jamii Telecommunications Ltd (JTL) – often known by its Faiba brand – with 24.0% share, and Wananchi Group (provider of Zuku fiber) at 17.5% tuko.co.ke. Emerging ISPs like Poa Internet (13.2%) have also gained traction by offering affordable wireless broadband, while smaller providers (Mawingu, Liquid Telecom, etc.) each hold only a few percent of the market tuko.co.ke. In total Kenya had about 1.33 million fixed data subscriptions by early 2024 techweez.com, reflecting the rapid uptake of home and enterprise broadband in recent years.
On the mobile internet front, Safaricom is the clear leader with the majority of Kenya’s ~43 million mobile data subscriptions a4ai.org, followed by Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya. (For example, in 2021 Safaricom alone served about 68% of mobile subscribers a4ai.org.) These mobile operators provide extensive 3G/4G coverage and increasingly bundle home internet services via wireless routers. The entrance of new players is relatively rare due to high infrastructure costs and licensing requirements; instead, consolidation and service diversification by existing ISPs characterize the market. Notably, in 2023 Starlink (SpaceX’s satellite ISP) entered Kenya and quickly amassed thousands of users, reaching about 8,000 subscriptions (0.5% share)by mid-2024 tuko.co.ke. By early 2025 Starlink had doubled its subscriber base to 16,746 (about 1.1% share), making it Kenya’s eighth-largest ISP and the dominant satellite internet provider allafrica.com. This growth underscores the demand for connectivity options in underserved areas and is influencing the competitive dynamics among Kenya’s ISPs.
Infrastructure Development and Coverage
Kenya’s internet infrastructure has expanded significantly over the past decade. International connectivity is robust – the country is connected to multiple submarine fiber-optic cables that land at the port of Mombasa. As of 2023, five major undersea cables (such as TEAMS, SEACOM, EASSy, LION-2, and PEACE) land in Mombasa, and they are being joined by new high-capacity systems 2Africa and Africa-1 by 2023-2024 capacitymedia.com. This has dramatically increased available bandwidth; Kenya’s total international internet capacity reached 20,744 Gbpsin early 2024 after a recent 20% boost keoffers.co.ke. The ample international bandwidth not only serves Kenya’s population but is also sold to neighboring countries, reflecting Kenya’s role as a regional internet hub keoffers.co.ke.
Terrestrial fiber infrastructure has seen extensive development. The government’s National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI) project has laid fiber across all 47 counties, and it is targeting 100,000 km of fiber by 2026 to connect thousands of government offices, schools, and health centers globenewswire.com. Private operators have also built metropolitan fiber networks in urban areas. For instance, Safaricom expanded its fiber footprint to 14,000 km by March 2023 (a 28.7% increase in one year) businessdailyafrica.com, enabling a surge in home fiber connections (275,000 homes, up 42.8% year-over-year) businessdailyafrica.com. Competing ISPs like Jamii Telecom and Wananchi (Zuku) have focused on major cities (Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, etc.), resulting in dense coverage in many urban and suburban neighborhoods. Moreover, new cross-border links are being established – in 2023 Liquid Intelligent Technologies opened a fiber route from Nairobi into Ethiopia to improve regional connectivity globenewswire.com.
Urban vs. rural coverage: In cities and large towns, residents benefit from multiple internet options (fiber-to-the-home, 4G/5G fixed wireless, cable broadband), and infrastructure is continually improving. In contrast, rural and remote areas often have limited coverage and rely heavily on mobile networks. Many rural communities lack last-mile fiber links; although backbone fiber runs to all county capitals, connectivity within rural sub-counties remains low due to the high cost and lower revenue potential of network build-out in sparsely populated areas a4ai.org. The rural-urban digital gap is stark: the 2019 census showed that only 13.7% of the rural population had internet access, compared to 42.5% in urban areas a4ai.org. While this gap may have narrowed somewhat with expanding 3G/4G coverage, a majority of rural Kenyans (who comprise ~71% of the population) still lack reliable internet connectivity and often even basic electricity in some locales businessdailyafrica.com businessdailyafrica.com. Thus, infrastructure development has been highly concentrated in urban Kenya, and extending networks to underserved regions remains a significant challenge.
Broadband Speed and Pricing Comparisons
Kenya’s internet speeds have improved with modern infrastructure, though actual performance varies by provider and location. A 2023-2024 analysis of fixed broadband tests found average download speeds in the 20–30 Mbps range for the top ISPs techweez.com. Notably, Telkom Kenya (the historically state-owned telco) recorded the fastest average download speed ~33.0 Mbps, followed by Jamii Telecom (27.7 Mbps) and Zuku/Wananchi (22.8 Mbps) techweez.com. Safaricom’s fixed service averaged around 19.8 Mbps, slightly lower perhaps due to network load, while a smaller wireless ISP (Mawingu) trailed with about 7.2 Mbps techweez.com. For context, speeds above 25 Mbps are considered sufficient for demanding applications like 4K video streaming techweez.com. Upload throughput showed a similar ranking, with Telkom topping ~28 Mbps uploads techweez.com. Latency on all major wired networks was in a reasonable range (around 40–68 ms) techweez.com, supporting generally responsive browsing and video calls. On the mobile side, 4G networks in Kenya can deliver download speeds on the order of 15–40 Mbps in good conditions, while emerging 5G networks have demonstrated much higher potential speeds (over 200 Mbps in some trials), although coverage is still limited.
Pricing for internet access in Kenya varies by technology and provider, but competition has driven prices down in recent years. For home fiber broadband, unlimited monthly packages typically cost around KSh 2,800–3,000 for a basic 10 Mbps plan, about KSh 4,000–6,300 for mid-tier plans of 20–40 Mbps, and approximately KSh 12,500 for premium 100 Mbps service tuko.co.ke tuko.co.ke. For example, Safaricom’s Home Fibre plans start at KSh 2,999 for 10 Mbps and go up to KSh 12,499 for 100 Mbps tuko.co.ke, while Zuku offers 10 Mbps from KSh 2,799 and 60 Mbps around KSh 5,999 (internet-only) tuko.co.ke. These prices are for unlimited data usage, making fixed broadband attractive for heavy users.
In contrast, mobile data and fixed-wireless plans often have data caps but offer flexibility and wider coverage. Prepaid mobile data bundles are inexpensive at small scales (e.g. 1 GB for a few dozen shillings), but larger packages are needed for heavy use. Safaricom, Airtel, and Telkom all sell 4G home router bundles: for instance, Telkom’s 4G Home plan offers 50 GB for KSh 3,000 or unlimited 4G (with FUP limits) for ~KSh 6,000 per month tuko.co.ke. Airtel Kenya, which launched 5G services in 2023, introduced 5G Home Broadband packages priced at KSh 3,500 per month for an unlimited 10 Mbps connection, KSh 5,500 for 30 Mbps, and KSh 7,500 for 50 Mbps tuko.co.ke. These fixed-wireless plans use a plug-and-play router (often sold separately for ~KSh 7,500) and are geared toward areas without fiber. Mobile data pricing per GB in Kenya is generally affordable by regional standards, but the cost of large-volume use on mobile networks is still higher than on unlimited fiber plans. Overall, Kenyans can choose from a range of internet options to fit their budget and needs, with fiber offering the best value for heavy usage in urban areas and 4G/5G wireless filling the gap in areas where fiber is not available.
Government Regulations and Restrictions on Internet Access
The Kenyan internet sector is regulated by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), which oversees licensing of ISPs, spectrum allocation, and enforcement of ICT policies. In general, Kenya has enjoyed a relatively open internet environment. Historically, the government has not employed systematic technical filtering or widespread censorship of online content en.wikipedia.org. Users can access social media, news, and opposition websites freely, and freedom of expression online is protected under the Constitution. However, targeted restrictions have occurred in recent years, usually justified by authorities on grounds of security or public order. Notably, in late 2023 the CA temporarily blocked the Telegram messaging app for 21 days to curb exam cheating during national examinations, an unprecedented move that affected an estimated 22.7 million users and caused economic losses of about KSh 9.2 billion ($71 million) businessdailyafrica.com. Earlier in 2023, during anti-government protests, internet access in parts of the country was reportedly disrupted for several hours – a brief network shutdown on June 25, 2023 lasted about 7 hours and cost an estimated KSh 500 million in lost productivity businessdailyafrica.com. These incidents have raised concerns among civil society about digital rights and government overreach, given that Kenya’s laws (such as the 2018 Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act) prohibit unjustified interference with communications. Officials have generally defended such actions as necessary and have avoided prolonged nationwide blackouts seen in some neighboring countries.
Kenya’s regulatory framework also encompasses content moderation and surveillance to some extent. The government does monitor online content for hate speech or incitement (especially around elections), and can legally compel removal of content that violates laws (e.g. against ethnic hate or terrorism) state.gov. There is also a Data Protection Act (2019) governing user data privacy. By and large, outright censorship is not routine – for example, there is no permanent social media ban and Kenyans actively debate politics online. In Freedom House’s “Freedom on the Net” assessment, Kenya has often been rated at least “partly free” or even “free” in earlier years en.wikipedia.org. The recent resort to temporary shutdowns and service restrictions marks a worrying trend, though these have so far been limited in duration.
On the economic regulatory side, the government has taken steps to manage competition and new technologies. The CA sets license conditions and fees for operators and occasionally steps in with pro-competition measures (for instance, deliberating on mobile termination rates and infrastructure sharing rules). A current debate is how to regulate satellite broadband providers: in 2024 the CA proposed a tenfold increase in license fees for satellite internet services – from around $12,300 to $115,000 – along with an annual 0.4% levy on gross turnover allafrica.com. This move, coming after Starlink’s entry, is seen as an attempt to level the playing field with traditional ISPs (who pay various fees and taxes) and to address competitive concerns raised by local telcos. It illustrates how Kenya’s regulatory regime is adapting to new entrants like Starlink that operate differently from legacy providers. Overall, the government aims to encourage internet expansion while maintaining oversight, and it balances issues of affordability, competition, and information control in its policymaking. Internet freedom advocates continue to push for policies that keep the internet open and accessible, warning against heavy-handed restrictions that could undermine Kenya’s reputation as Africa’s “Silicon Savannah.”
Growth and Expansion of Fiber Optic Networks
The expansion of fiber optic networks in Kenya has been pivotal to improving broadband quality. Backbone and metro fiber deployments have accelerated, driven by both government initiatives and private sector investment. The National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI) is a flagship government project that has laid thousands of kilometers of fiber to connect county headquarters and public institutions. After completing initial phases connecting all counties, NOFBI is now undergoing further expansion with an ambitious goal of 100,000 km of fiber by end of 2026 globenewswire.com. This backbone extension (often implemented in partnership with telecom operators and contractors) is expected to bring broadband connectivity to hundreds of additional government offices, schools, and hospitals across Kenya globenewswire.com. It is a critical part of Kenya’s national broadband strategy to ensure that even less-economically-viable areas have high-capacity links.
Private ISPs have simultaneously grown their last-mile fiber networks, especially in urban centers. Safaricom, for example, launched its home fiber service in 2017 and rapidly scaled up: by March 2023 Safaricom had 275,657 homes connected (up 42.8% from the previous year) and expanded its fiber network to 14,000 km crisscrossing neighborhoods in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret and other cities businessdailyafrica.com. Similarly, Jamii Telecom’s Faiba and Wananchi’s Zuku Fiber have extended fiber-to-the-premises in many estates, often overlapping in high-demand areas. These companies have steadily increased the number of towns covered – for instance, Zuku has network presence in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret and others, while Safaricom has pushed fiber into smaller towns like Nyeri, Nanyuki, and Kericho. The result is that many urban and peri-urban households now have access to fiber broadband, a service that was virtually nonexistent a decade ago. Kenya’s fixed broadband subscriptions (mostly fiber) grew from under 100,000 in 2015 to over 1.3 million by 2024 techweez.com, reflecting this infrastructure boom.
To reach more customers faster, providers often deploy fiber aerially on poles (to reduce cost and time compared to buried fiber). Safaricom noted that in 2023 it accelerated rollout by using aerial deployments, adding over 3,100 km in one year businessdailyafrica.com. There is also growing connectivity between networks: carrier-neutral data centers in Nairobi (like those by iColo and Liquid Telecom) serve as Internet Exchange points, and fiber inter-city links ensure redundancy. Projects by utility companies have contributed as well – e.g., Kenya Power has leveraged its electricity transmission network to run fiber lines (leased to ISPs), and some transportation projects (railway, highway) include fiber ducts.
Despite the progress, fiber expansion faces challenges. The costly “last mile” to individual rural villages is often not economical without subsidy, leading to a continued reliance on wireless solutions there a4ai.org. Vandalism and cable cuts are also issues; Kenya experienced notable internet slowdowns in 2020 and 2022 when undersea cables were cut and backup terrestrial routes had to carry traffic. Nonetheless, the trajectory is clearly toward more fiber: new suburbs are being connected continuously, and even outside Nairobi fiber is reaching office parks, university campuses, and affluent homes. The government’s support – including facilitating rights-of-way and lowering import duties on telecom equipment – has further encouraged operators to invest in fiber. As Kenya aims to become an ICT hub, the growing fiber optic network is laying the groundwork for reliable high-speed connectivity nationwide.
Mobile Network Coverage and Penetration (3G, 4G, 5G)
Mobile networks are the cornerstone of internet access in Kenya, accounting for the vast majority of data users. The country has achieved near-universal coverage with basic mobile signals, and mobile broadband services have expanded greatly in the past decade. By 2023, 3G networks covered 99% of the population and 4G/LTE coverage reached about 98% of the population the-star.co.ke, a remarkable footprint largely due to Safaricom’s investment and coverage obligations set by the regulator. This means almost every Kenyan (even in rural areas) lives within range of at least a 3G signal, and nearly all populated areas are served by 4G as well. In practical terms, Safaricom’s network alone has 2G/3G available to over 95% of the population, and by 2022 its 4G network covered about 97% of Kenyans safaricom.co.ke. Airtel Kenya has also extended 4G across most counties after acquiring additional spectrum, though its coverage is somewhat behind Safaricom’s in remote zones.
Mobile penetration rates are high in Kenya – there were ~64 million active mobile SIM cards in 2023 (over 130% SIM penetration), indicating many users have multiple SIMs techjournal.co.ke. In terms of unique subscribers, roughly 32 million individuals (about 60% of the population) had a mobile phone subscription. Among these, mobile internet use is widespread: about 25.8 million subscriptions were on mobile broadband (3G or 4G) as of 2021 a4ai.org, and that number has only grown with 4G smartphone uptake. Essentially, mobile networks have brought internet to tens of millions of Kenyans who lack fixed connections. Even in rural villages, 3G/4G allows access to social media, mobile banking (M-Pesa), and information services via affordable smartphones. However, a portion of mobile users (~17 million in 2021) still use only 2G/EDGE service a4ai.org– often due to owning basic feature phones – which provides very limited internet capability. As 3G coverage is ubiquitous, one challenge is upgrading the user devices and affordability of data for the remaining 2G-only users.
Kenya has also been on the forefront of 5G in Africa. Safaricom launched the country’s first 5G trials in 2020 and rolled out commercial 5G service in October 2022 in select cities (Nairobi, Kisumu, Kakamega, Kisii, and Mombasa) rcrwireless.com. By mid-2023, Safaricom had live 5G sites in more than 5 cities and was expanding coverage, reporting over 500,000 active 5G customers by mid-2024 globenewswire.com. In July 2023, Airtel Kenya became the second operator to launch 5G, activating 5G at over 370 sites across the country including parts of Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kakamega and other towns rcrwireless.com. Initially, 5G coverage is concentrated in high-density areas (malls, business districts, and affluent neighborhoods) and offered via fixed wireless routers as well as to mobile devices. As of 2023, 5G signals reached only about 6% of the population the-star.co.ke, but this is expected to grow rapidly; projections indicated 13% population coverage by end of 2024, and Kenya aims for near-universal 5G coverage (~99%) by 2030 in line with its tech hub vision the-star.co.ke.
The availability of 3G, 4G, and 5G services in terms of adoption follows a pyramid: 3G is almost fully available and remains important for basic internet phones; 4G has become the standard for most smartphone users, offering much faster speeds and lower latency; 5G is in its infancy but holds promise for advanced use-cases (smart cities, IoT, HD streaming, etc.). Already, Safaricom and Airtel are marketing home broadband over 5G as an alternative to fiber in some areas, and in the coming years, 5G smartphones will become more common and affordable. The Kenyan government has supported these upgrades by releasing spectrum (e.g., allocating 3.5 GHz band for 5G) and avoiding heavy-handed regulation of new services. With two operators now on 5G, competition will likely drive further rollout – Safaricom plans to extend 5G to 80% of the population by 2025, and Airtel will expand beyond the initial 370 sites.
Overall, Kenya’s mobile network penetration is among the highest in Africa, and the country is leveraging that to deliver broadband connectivity. Challenges remain in ensuring quality of service in densely populated areas (to avoid congestion) and making sure rural base stations are upgraded to 4G. Powering remote towers (often via solar) and fiberizing cell sites for backhaul are ongoing efforts to improve rural 4G reliability. But the trend is positive: each generation of mobile technology (2G to 3G to 4G and now 5G) has seen quick adoption, bridging the connectivity gap for millions.
Satellite Internet in Kenya: Starlink and Others
Satellite internet has traditionally played a minor role in Kenya’s connectivity, used mainly by businesses or NGOs in very remote locations. However, the situation is evolving with the arrival of Starlink and other modern satellite services. Elon Musk’s Starlink, which uses low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites, entered the Kenyan market in July 2023 – making Kenya one of the first African countries with Starlink coverage tuko.co.ke. The service was approved by regulators after some deliberation and went live offering high-speed broadband (50–200 Mbps) anywhere in the country with a view of the sky. By the end of June 2024, Starlink had 8,063 subscribers in Kenya tuko.co.ke, rapidly placing it among the top ten ISPs by subscriptions. Its adoption has only accelerated: by January 2025 Starlink reached 16,746 subscribers (about 1.1% of all internet subscriptions), overtaking some long-established ISPs allafrica.com. This makes Starlink by far the largest satellite internet provider in Kenya – in fact, it dwarfs competitors like Viasat, Indigo, and Bentley Walker/NTVsat, each of which reportedly has fewer than 300 subscribers in the country allafrica.com. Essentially, Starlink has opened a new front for connecting rural homes, farms, and businesses that were previously off the broadband grid.
Aside from Starlink, legacy satellite options have been available in Kenya through providers like iSat Africa, YahClick (from YahSat), and Avanti’s Hylas satellite service. These typically use VSAT (very small aperture terminal) dishes and geostationary satellites to deliver internet to enterprise or mission-critical users (e.g., banks’ remote branches, lodges in national parks, or humanitarian organizations). The costs for such services have been high (hundreds of dollars per month for a few Mbps), limiting their usage. Some Kenyan ISPs (e.g., Liquid Telecom, formerly Kenya Data Networks) have offered satellite connectivity as a backup or niche solution. However, none achieved mass-market adoption due to slow speeds, high latency (~600 ms), and expense. Starlink’s LEO approach, by contrast, offers latency under 50 ms and speeds 10-20x faster, at a fraction of the legacy cost – hence the excitement and uptake.
Accessibility and pricing: At launch, Starlink’s hardware kit (dish + WiFi router) in Kenya cost around KSh 92,000 (≈ $600) and the monthly service was KSh 6,500 (≈ $45). This upfront cost was a barrier for many rural consumers (often higher than a month’s income). In response, Starlink introduced flexible options in late 2023: it offered rental plans for the hardware (so users could pay monthly for the equipment instead of a lump sum) tuko.co.ke, and rolled out more affordable data packages. By August 2024, Starlink even introduced a “Starlink Regional” or “Starlink Mini” plan for as low as KSh 1,300 per month (roughly $10) which provides a 50 GB data bundle allafrica.com. Additionally, promotions have halved installation costs for Kenyan customers tuko.co.ke. This aggressive pricing strategy – e.g. 50 GB for $10 – undercuts many terrestrial providers and has fueled subscriber growth allafrica.com. Starlink’s standard unlimited plan remains available for heavy users, but the cheaper bundles make it accessible to schools, small businesses, or households that only need moderate data.
In terms of performance, users in Kenya have reported download speeds typically between 50 and 150 Mbps on Starlink, with uploads around 10–20 Mbps – a huge improvement for areas that previously might have had only 2G or slow DSL. The challenge for satellite internet remains the need for power and clear skies: the dish requires electricity (which some off-grid homesteads lack) and cannot have obstructions like thick vegetation or buildings. Also, extreme weather can momentarily affect the signal. Another practical challenge is regulatory – ensuring Starlink and others comply with licensing (the CAK licensing fee hike proposal is one example of regulators responding to Starlink’s impact allafrica.com). Local ISPs initially raised concerns that Starlink wasn’t playing by the same rules, but the company has since established a Kenya presence (Starlink Kenya Ltd.) and even set up a “point of presence” ground station in Nairobi in Dec 2024 to improve its service allafrica.com. That local gateway reduced Starlink latency in Kenya from ~120 ms (when traffic was routed via Europe) to about 26 ms locally allafrica.com, further enhancing quality.
Overall, the state of satellite internet in Kenya is one of new opportunities and competition. Starlink’s focus is reaching the underserved rural and remote users, which aligns with Kenya’s goal of universal internet access. Other global players like OneWeb and Amazon’s Project Kuiper are also planning services that could include Kenya, potentially by 2025-2026. Among local initiatives, there have been experiments with balloon-based or aerial platforms: Google’s Project Loon trialed stratospheric balloons to deliver 4G internet in rural Kenya in 2020, in partnership with Telkom Kenya x.company. That pilot (the first of its kind in the world) provided connectivity to areas of central Kenya and was helpful during COVID-19, though the Loon project was later shut down globally in 2021 due to economic infeasibility x.company. Nonetheless, it demonstrated Kenya’s openness to innovative solutions.
Looking ahead, satellite internet may remain a niche but important piece of Kenya’s connectivity mix. For the most remote communities – in northern Kenya’s arid lands, deep rural villages, or off-shore islands – satellites can deliver internet where extending fiber or even 4G towers is not viable. The cost is coming down, but is still substantial relative to average incomes, so adoption might concentrate among institutions (schools, clinics, county offices) and higher-income rural households. A potential game-changer is SpaceX’s plan to use Starlink satellites to connect directly to regular mobile phones (leveraging satellite-to-cell service) as early as 2025 allafrica.com. If that becomes reality, Kenyans in remote areas could get basic internet and texting on ordinary 4G phones via satellite coverage, without needing a special dish – an innovation that could drastically improve rural connectivity. Kenyan regulators and operators are closely watching these developments to ensure they complement national broadband efforts.
Digital Divide: Challenges and Initiatives for Remote Regions
Despite Kenya’s ICT achievements, a significant digital divide exists between well-connected urban centers and under-connected rural areas. Key barriers include infrastructure gaps, cost of services and devices, and low digital literacy in some communities businessdailyafrica.com. About 71% of Kenyans live in rural areas businessdailyafrica.com, mostly engaged in agriculture or pastoralism, and many of these areas lack the basic infrastructure to support internet access. In some villages, even electricity is not available, which “hinders communication and connectivity even for those with basic feature phones” businessdailyafrica.com. As noted, rural internet usage was only ~13.7% in 2019 a4ai.org, and though mobile coverage has improved, many rural Kenyans still do not use the internet regularly due to poverty or lack of relevance. Bridging this divide is a top priority for Kenya’s development agenda.
A number of initiatives are underway to improve internet access in remote and marginalized regions. The Universal Service Fund (USF), managed by the Communications Authority, collects contributions from telecom operators to finance connectivity projects in unserved areas. Through USF programs, the government has funded the construction of cellular base stations in dozens of remote locations that operators would otherwise avoid. For example, under the USF Phase 2 program around 2018–2020, Safaricom and other operators built 2G/3G towers in parts of Northeastern Kenya (Garissa, Wajir, Mandera counties) and other rural pockets, bringing mobile voice and data for the first time to those communities. The USF has also supported digital literacy training and the setup of community ICT centers where residents can access computers and the internet. However, utilization of these centers can be low if not coupled with training and local content.
International partners and the private sector are also contributing. A prominent effort is the Giga initiative led by UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which in Kenya has focused on connecting schools to the internet. As of the end of 2023, a partnership between UNICEF and Ericsson had connected 546 public schools in Kenya to the internet, benefiting more than 340,000 students and teachers ericsson.com. These connections (via a mix of fiber, microwave, and satellite links) not only provide educational content to students but often serve as community internet hubs after school hours. Similarly, NGOs and tech companies have run pilot programs for community networks – locally owned and operated networks in rural areas. In Kenya’s cases like TunapandaNET in Kibera (urban slum community network) and Lanet Umoja community network in a peri-urban area, demonstrate that with some training and initial capital, communities can build Wi-Fi or mesh networks to share internet access. While small in scale, such grassroots projects empower communities to take connectivity into their own hands, and the government has indicated support by easing licensing for community ISPs.
One novel approach attempted in Kenya was Project Loon, as mentioned earlier, where high-altitude balloons provided internet over a wide rural area. In 2020, about 35 Loon balloons were deployed over Kenya, and at their peak they provided internet connectivity across ~50,000 square kilometers, reaching users with speeds around 18 Mbps using special receivers x.company. This was a world-first deployment and it connected some remote schools and portions of the Rift Valley. Although Loon did not continue, it sparked conversations on leveraging non-traditional infrastructure (balloons, drones, satellites) to reach the hardest-to-reach populations.
The Kenyan government has also launched programs like the Digital Literacy Programme, which provided tablets/laptops to primary school children (so that lack of devices does not hinder internet use in education). Furthermore, county governments in some areas have started to offer public Wi-Fi hotspots in market centers and bus parks to encourage internet use for e-government services and e-commerce. For instance, Nairobi and Nakuru counties at times have provided free Wi-Fi in certain downtown areas. However, maintaining these free services is challenging and they often depend on sponsorships.
Another critical aspect of the digital divide is affordability. The cost of smartphones has dropped (one can get an internet-capable phone for under $50 now), but for very low-income households this is still a significant expense. There are micro-loan and hire-purchase schemes for phones (e.g., Safaricom’s Lipa Mdogo Mdogo program) that allow people to pay in installments, thus expanding smartphone ownership. The cost of data has also been falling; Kenya’s average cost per 1GB of mobile data is around $0.50–$1, which is better than many African countries, yet for a rural farmer, consistently paying for data might compete with other necessities. The CAK monitors data pricing and has pushed operators to create low-cost bundles for youth and rural users (such as “Kadogo” bundles that cost as little as KSh 10).
Digital literacy and relevance are being addressed through training programs. Government and NGOs run digital skills workshops that teach people how to use the internet for agriculture (accessing weather info, crop prices), for health (telemedicine consultations), and for finance (mobile banking beyond just M-Pesa). The idea is to show the value of being connected so that people have motivation to get online. In pastoral communities, some projects have introduced smartphones with apps in local languages containing veterinary advice and connecting herders to markets, demonstrating a direct benefit of connectivity.
In summary, Kenya recognizes the digital divide as a socio-economic problem and is tackling it with a mix of infrastructure development, subsidies, community empowerment, and education. President William Ruto’s administration (since 2022) has emphasized inclusion – one initiative in 2023 was a plan to deploy connectivity to the far northern counties (like Mandera, Marsabit) where internet usage rates are as low as 1-2% a4ai.org. Through partnerships with agencies like USAID and A4AI, studies have been done to identify optimal ways to connect these “last frontier” regions a4ai.org. The needed investments are significant, but the hope is that by connecting schools, health centers, and local government offices first (so-called “anchor institutions”), a trickle-down effect will bring connectivity to surrounding communities. The continued expansion of 4G/5G and the advent of satellite options like Starlink are fortuitous developments that Kenya is leveraging in its battle to close the digital divide.
Future Trends and Government Initiatives
Kenya’s internet landscape is dynamic, and several trends and initiatives are likely to shape the future of connectivity:
- 5G Expansion and New Services: Both Safaricom and Airtel are expected to aggressively expand 5G coverage over the next few years. By 2030, Kenya envisions nationwide 5G coverage (reaching 99% of the population) the-star.co.ke, which will enable advanced applications such as Internet of Things (IoT), smart city infrastructure, telemedicine, and immersive education. Safaricom has hinted at developing 5G-based fixed wireless products for rural areas (which could compete directly with satellite for remote broadband). Additionally, Kenya might see new mobile entrants or network sharing – for instance, Equitel (MVNO by Equity Bank) and possibly international operators like MTN exploring entry – which could enhance competition in mobile data services.
- Continued Fiber Network Growth: The push to lay fiber to more homes and businesses will continue. Safaricom, Zuku, and others plan to extend fiber to dozens of new towns and new suburbs of cities. The government’s National Digital Master Plan 2022–2032 emphasizes investment in digital infrastructure as a pillar of economic growth businessdailyafrica.com. Under this plan, there are targets to increase the percentage of households with high-speed internet and to bring down the cost of bandwidth. We can expect further phases of NOFBI to increase redundancy (e.g., multiple fiber routes to each county for resilience). Moreover, international capacity will get another boost when the 2Africa subsea cable (the world’s longest subsea cable, led by Meta) becomes fully operational – it landed in Mombasa in late 2022 2africacable.netand is slated to go live by 2024, adding huge bandwidth. Similarly, the Africa-1 cable consortium will add connectivity via the Middle East. These will ensure Kenya’s international gateways can support future data demand at lower costs.
- Policy and Regulation Initiatives: The government is updating policies to facilitate growth. One likely development is a comprehensive National Broadband Policy update, setting new goals for broadband speeds and penetration by 2030. The regulator (CA) is also looking at spectrum re-farming (for example, repurposing some 2G spectrum to 4G/5G as 2G usage declines) and possibly incentivizing rural coverage through reduced fees or public-private partnerships. The proposed fee hike for satellite ISPs allafrica.comcould be revised after stakeholder input, balancing innovation and fairness. Kenya is also part of regional efforts in the East African Community to harmonize ICT regulations, which might streamline cross-border connectivity and roaming.
- Local Content and Services: As access expands, an emphasis is on generating local digital content and e-services that make the internet more valuable to citizens. The Kenyan government has rolled out more e-government services via the e-Citizen portal and is working on digitizing all government records and payments. This drive will increase demand for internet access as citizens interact with government online (e.g., for license applications, tax, land records). The growth of Kenya’s tech startup ecosystem (the “Silicon Savannah”) also means more Kenya-centric apps in education, health, finance, and entertainment, which can drive internet uptake even in rural areas. For instance, Kenyan agritech apps that work offline but sync online can create new use cases for farmers to get online periodically.
- Infrastructure Sharing and Collaborative Expansion: To reduce costs, there is a trend of operators sharing infrastructure. Safaricom, Airtel, and Telkom have engaged in tower sharing to reach rural areas. The government might encourage a open-access wholesale fiber model in certain areas – meaning one fiber network in a small town could be shared by all ISPs to serve customers, rather than duplicate cables. Such collaboration can expedite expansion into lower-income areas. Additionally, energy infrastructure projects are being synchronized with ICT – for example, when Kenya Power extends the electricity grid (through its Last Mile Connectivity project for electricity), fiber is sometimes laid alongside, killing two birds with one stone.
- Emerging Technologies: Looking further ahead, Kenya is likely to explore 6G research, AI integration in networks, and edge computing for faster content delivery. While 6G (next generation mobile) is a decade away, early planning can keep Kenya technologically ahead. There’s also interest in community satellites or cubeSats – Kenya launched some small satellites for observation; similar small sat technology might in future be used for narrowband connectivity (IoT sensors in wildlife parks, etc.). The country’s universities and innovation hubs are increasingly involved in telecom research, which could yield home-grown solutions tailored to local challenges (like affordable rural wireless equipment).
- Government Ambitions: The Kenyan government has articulated a vision of universal internet access as part of its development goals. President Ruto’s administration in 2023 announced plans to lay 100,000 km of fiber (aligning with NOFBI) and to connect every school to the internet by 2030. These ambitious goals will require continued funding and political support. Kenya is also part of the Smart Africa Alliance, which sets continent-wide ICT targets such as reducing the cost of 1GB to under 2% of monthly income – something Kenya is close to achieving. We can anticipate new public initiatives like tech parks (e.g., Konza Technopolis smart city) generating demand for high-capacity networks, and perhaps government subsidies for connectivity in areas like telehealth and distance learning to ensure services reach remote citizens.
In conclusion, internet access in Kenya is poised to grow more pervasive, faster, and more inclusive. The past decade’s investments in undersea cables, fiber optics, and mobile networks have laid a solid foundation. The next frontier is ensuring that this connectivity truly reaches all Kenyans, wherever they live, and that it is affordable and reliable. Ongoing projects to bridge the digital divide, coupled with the natural expansion of commercial networks and new technologies like 5G and LEO satellites, give reason for optimism. Kenya’s “Silicon Savannah” reputation will depend not just on urban tech innovation but also on how successfully the country can bring the benefits of the internet to its rural savannahs. With strong public-private collaboration and smart regulation, Kenya is charting a path toward a future where internet access is ubiquitous – fueling economic growth, social development, and innovation across the nation.
Sources: tuko.co.ke techweez.com keoffers.co.ke a4ai.org the-star.co.ke globenewswire.com businessdailyafrica.com businessdailyafrica.com allafrica.com
