Communications Authority of Kenya has ranked Safaricom PLC as the leading mobile network operator in its latest Quality-of-Service (QoS) report for the 2024–2025 financial year, even as the broader telecommunications sector shows signs of declining performance.
The regulator’s assessment, conducted under its QoS framework established in 2017, evaluated operators based on end-to-end network testing, overall network performance, and customer experience.
The review combined technical data with user satisfaction surveys to provide a comprehensive outlook on service delivery across the country.
Safaricom emerged as the top performer with an overall QoS score of 89.72 percent, comfortably surpassing the 80 percent regulatory threshold.
Airtel Kenya followed with 81.14 percent, just above the compliance mark, while Telkom Kenya recorded 52.76 percent, falling significantly below the required standards.
In key performance indicators, Safaricom maintained a strong lead, posting 90.36 percent in end-to-end network quality—the highest among all operators—and achieving full compliance across all five regional clusters. Airtel met targets in only two regions, while Telkom failed to meet targets in any region assessed.
Customer experience scores further reflected the gap, with Safaricom leading at 70 percent, followed by Airtel at 68.4 percent and Telkom at 60 percent. Both Safaricom and Airtel recorded a perfect 100 percent score in network performance, compared to Telkom’s 60 percent.
However, the report paints a broader picture of a sector under strain. The regulator noted a four-year downward trend in overall industry performance, attributing the decline to increased demand for data services and mounting pressure on network infrastructure.
Despite these challenges, Safaricom’s consistent performance stands out, with the regulator highlighting its sustained investment in infrastructure and ability to deliver reliable services nationwide.
The operator is the only one to meet all QoS targets across every region, reinforcing its position as the benchmark in Kenya’s telecommunications sector.
