Kenya’s active mobile subscriptions rose to 84.1 million in the third quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year (January–March 2026), a 7.4% increase from the previous quarter that pushed mobile penetration to 157.7%, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
The CA’s latest sector statistics show Safaricom PLC expanded its lead in the mobile subscriptions market by adding about 5.5 million subscriptions during the quarter, raising its total subscriber base to 57.9 million from 52.4 million. Safaricom’s market share stood at 68.9%.
Airtel Networks Kenya had 23.2 million subscribers, representing 27.6% of the market, the CA data shows. Equitel (Finserve) recorded 1.51 million subscriptions (1.8%), while Jamii Telecommunications (Faiba) had 883,944 subscriptions (1.1%). Telkom Kenya posted a decline, losing 160,464 subscribers during the quarter to end at 584,438 subscriptions, equivalent to 0.7% market share.
The figures offer a snapshot of the competitive dynamics in Kenya’s telecommunications market, where mobile connectivity underpins consumer spending, e-commerce, digital lending, transport and last-mile payments. Multiple SIM ownership and the use of separate lines for data, business and mobile money continue to contribute to penetration levels above 100%.
The regulator attributed the quarterly increase in subscriptions to operator-led efforts and broader market shifts. “The Communications Authority attributed this robust growth primarily to customer win-back campaigns run by operators during the reference period,” the CA statistics report said. The CA also cited “falling device costs, the expansion of high-speed mobile network infrastructure and the growing necessity of mobile-based economic and social services in Kenya.”
The CA data also points to an accelerating shift toward smartphones. Smartphones accounted for 63.7% of total mobile phones connected to networks during the period, according to the regulator, reflecting the rising importance of app-based services and internet-driven consumption.
In mobile broadband, Kenya had 62.6 million subscriptions as of March 31, 2026, the CA said. Safaricom led the segment with a 62.7% share, down from 64.3% in the prior quarter, indicating competitive pressure in data even as the operator retained a clear lead.
In fixed data, Safaricom held a 35.4% market share, followed by Jamii Telecommunications at 19.5%, Wananchi Group at 10.4% and Poa Internet Kenya at 9.7%, according to the CA. Other providers included Ahadi Wireless (9.2%), Vilcom Network (6.0%) and Mawingu Networks (3.7%). Starlink had a 0.9% share in the period covered by the report.
Mobile money remained concentrated around the market leader. The CA said the mobile money sub-segment grew to 53.4 million active subscriptions, with Safaricom holding an 89.1% share.
Usage metrics continued to show dominance by the two largest operators. Domestic voice traffic shares were Safaricom (64.96%) and Airtel (34.88%), with Telkom (0.07%), Equitel (0.05%) and Jamii (0.04%) accounting for the remainder, according to the CA. For SMS traffic, Safaricom accounted for 93.96% while Airtel held 6.01%, with the other operators near zero.
For Kenya’s business landscape, the latest CA numbers underline sustained demand for connectivity and the growing role of smartphones and broadband in consumption patterns. The report also suggests that while Safaricom remains the dominant player across several indicators, shifts in data-market share and continued subscriber gains by rivals will be closely watched for signals of pricing pressure, network investment cycles and new product bundling.
The next market test will come in subsequent CA quarterly updates, which will show whether the subscriber gains—linked by the regulator to win-back campaigns and device affordability—are sustained and whether competition tightens further in mobile broadband and fixed internet.