Kenya’s mobile telecommunications sector is coming under increasing strain as demand for data continues to surge, according to the latest Quality-of-Service (QoS) report by the Communications Authority of Kenya for the 2024–2025 financial year.
The report shows that while Safaricom PLC maintains its lead in network quality with a score of 89.72 percent, the wider industry is experiencing a gradual decline in overall performance, driven largely by pressure on existing infrastructure.
Airtel Kenya posted 81.14 percent, narrowly meeting the regulatory threshold, while Telkom Kenya lagged significantly at 52.76 percent, falling below compliance standards.
According to the Communications Authority, the sector’s performance has been on a downward trend for four consecutive years, largely attributed to increased internet usage, expansion of digital services, and higher expectations from consumers relying on mobile connectivity for banking, work, and entertainment.
Safaricom, however, continued to outperform competitors in key areas, recording the highest end-to-end network quality score of 90.36 percent and leading in customer experience at 70 percent. Airtel followed closely in some technical indicators but trailed in consistency, while Telkom recorded the weakest performance across most metrics.
The regulator notes that both Safaricom and Airtel achieved full marks in network performance scoring at 100 percent, but gaps emerged in real-world user experience and regional consistency, where Safaricom maintained a stronger balance.
Despite pockets of strong performance, the report highlights growing concern over the industry’s ability to scale infrastructure fast enough to match demand. This, the Authority warns, could affect service quality if investments do not keep pace with usage growth.
The findings position Safaricom as the most resilient operator in a tightening market, while signaling an urgent need for sector-wide upgrades to ensure Kenya’s digital economy continues to grow without connectivity bottlenecks.
