Safaricom has added 5.5 million new mobile subscriptions in the third quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year, pushing the telecom giant closer to the 60 million subscriber milestone.
According to the latest sector data released by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) for the period between January and March 2026, total active mobile subscriptions in the country rose by 7.4 percent to 84.1 million, up from 78.3 million in the previous quarter.
The growth lifted Kenya’s mobile penetration rate to 157.7 percent, reflecting continued expansion in connectivity and multiple SIM usage across the market.
Safaricom Widens Lead
Safaricom accounted for the bulk of the growth, expanding its subscriber base from 52.4 million to 57.9 million, and increasing its market share to 68.9 percent.
Airtel Kenya remained the second-largest operator with 23.2 million subscribers, translating to a 27.6 percent market share.
Equitel, operated by Finserve, grew slightly to 1.51 million subscribers, representing 1.8 percent, while Jamii Telecommunications (Faiba) recorded 883,944 subscribers, equivalent to 1.1 percent of the market.
Telkom Kenya was the only major operator to register a notable decline, shedding 160,464 subscribers to close at 584,438 users, giving it a 0.7 percent market share.
What is Driving Growth
The Communications Authority attributed the overall increase in subscriptions to aggressive customer retention and acquisition campaigns, falling handset prices, and the continued rollout of high-speed mobile broadband infrastructure.
Rising dependence on mobile-based services for communication, business, and digital payments has also accelerated adoption.
Smartphone usage continues to rise sharply, now accounting for 63.7 percent of all mobile devices connected in Kenya, further boosting demand for data services.
Mobile Broadband and Data Market
Kenya’s mobile broadband subscriptions rose to 62.6 million. Safaricom retained dominance in this segment with a 62.7 percent share, although this was a slight decline from 64.3 percent, indicating increased competition in the data market.
Fixed Internet Market Competition
In the fixed data segment, Safaricom led with 35.4 percent market share, but faced strong competition from other providers including:
- Jamii Telecommunications — 19.5%
- Wananchi Group — 10.4%
- Poa Internet Kenya — 9.7%
- Ahadi Wireless — 9.2%
- Vilcom Network — 6.0%
- Mawingu Networks — 3.7%
- Starlink — 0.9%
Mobile Money, Voice, and SMS Dominance
Safaricom maintained overwhelming control of mobile money services, holding 89.1 percent of the market, as active mobile money subscriptions rose to 53.4 million.
In voice traffic, Safaricom handled 64.96 percent, followed by Airtel at 34.88 percent, with other operators sharing less than 1 percent.
The SMS market remained highly concentrated, with Safaricom accounting for 93.96 percent of all messages, while Airtel held 6.01 percent and the rest of the operators remained marginal players.
