Kenya Speed Test - Check Safaricom, Airtel Speeds

Cable Broadband

Kenya's international connectivity depends on six submarine cables terminating at Mombasa. TEAMS (5,500 km to the UAE, 5.6 Tbps capacity) was the first cable to land in 2009, breaking the country's dependence on satellite links. EASSy runs 10,000 km along Africa's east coast with 36 Tbps capacity after a Ciena GeoMesh upgrade.

SEACOM connects to South Africa and India. DARE1 (4,854 km) links Djibouti, Somalia, and Kenya with 36 Tbps capacity. The PEACE cable (15,000 km) connects Pakistan, East Africa, and Europe. Telkom Kenya manages five of these six cables.

Fiber Broadband

Domestic backbone infrastructure centers on the government's National Optic Fiber Backbone Initiative (NOFBI). Phase 1 and 2E together laid 8,900 km of terrestrial fiber reaching all 47 county headquarters. Private operators built on top of this. Liquid Telecom Kenya operates extensive metro and long-haul fiber.

Safaricom has deployed fiber for its Home Fibre service reaching 20+ counties. Jamii Telecommunications (Faiba) invested heavily in fiber-to-the-home across Nairobi, Mombasa, and secondary towns.

Mobile Networks

Mobile infrastructure carries most of Kenya's internet traffic. Safaricom launched 5G in October 2022, starting with 35 sites.

By 2025, Safaricom operates 1,114 5G sites covering 102 towns across all 47 counties, though population coverage remains at 14%. Airtel Kenya has 690+ 5G sites across 39 counties with plans for 1,690 by end of the deployment cycle. 4G LTE covers most urban and peri-urban areas. The majority of rural Kenya depends on 3G and 4G mobile broadband as the only available connection type.

Satellite Internet

Fixed wireless is the fastest-growing broadband segment. Providers target peri-urban and underserved regions where fiber trenching is expensive. Starlink entered the market and reached 19,470 subscribers by late 2025, making it the eighth-largest ISP. The satellite service fills gaps in areas without fiber or reliable mobile coverage.

Nairobi and Mombasa account for the majority of Kenya's fixed broadband subscribers. Nairobi residents choose from 5+ ISPs offering fiber, with speeds of 15-100 Mbps at KES 1,575 to KES 6,299 per month. Mombasa recorded the highest fixed broadband speeds in Kenya at a median of 16.45 Mbps download. Both cities have 4G and 5G coverage from Safaricom and Airtel.

Secondary towns like Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu, and Thika have growing fiber coverage from Safaricom, Faiba, and regional providers. These areas typically offer 2-3 ISP choices with speeds of 10-30 Mbps. 4G coverage is reliable in town centers.

Rural Kenya faces a sharp connectivity gap. Most rural residents depend entirely on mobile data through 3G or 4G. Fixed broadband is rare outside county headquarters. Typical mobile speeds in rural areas drop to 5-15 Mbps.

Some counties in the northeast (Turkana, Wajir, Mandera) have limited 2G/3G coverage with no 4G. The government's Last Mile Connectivity Program aims to extend fiber to sub-county levels, but progress is slow. Starlink and fixed wireless providers are beginning to fill these gaps for households willing to pay the higher cost.

Safaricom

Safaricom is Kenya's dominant provider across mobile and fixed internet. With 50.9 million mobile subscribers (65.1% share), it is the default choice for most Kenyans.

Safaricom Home Fibre

Safaricom Home Fibre serves 815,000 customers with plans from KES 2,249/month (15 Mbps) to KES 4,724/month (100 Mbps) after a 25% price cut in mid-2025. Safaricom's mobile data includes daily, weekly, and monthly bundles. Its 5G network covers 102 towns. M-PESA integration means all payments flow through the Safaricom ecosystem.

Jamii Telecommunications (Faiba)

Jamii Telecommunications (Faiba) is the second-largest fixed broadband provider at 20.4% market share. Faiba focuses on fiber-to-the-home and 4G mobile data. Its fixed broadband speed tested at 34.2 Mbps average download in Q3 2025, the fastest among Kenya's fixed providers. Faiba targets price-conscious urban customers.

Airtel Kenya

Airtel Kenya holds roughly 26% of mobile subscribers and entered the home fiber market in September 2025. Its 5G home internet starts at KES 1,999/month for 15 Mbps, undercutting Safaricom. Airtel's 5G network covers 39 counties with 690+ sites.

Poa Internet specializes in budget fiber for low-income neighborhoods. At 12.5% fixed market share, it offers unlimited internet from KES 1,575/month or KES 450/week. Installation costs KES 2,500 including the router. Poa targets estates and apartment blocks in Nairobi and surrounding towns.

Wananchi Group (Zuku)

Wananchi Group (Zuku) holds 11.8% of fixed broadband but has been losing subscribers. Axian Telecom acquired Wananchi for $63 million in late 2025, planning to rebrand the service as Yas. Telkom Kenya operates the T-Kash mobile money platform and manages most submarine cable landings but holds a small share of the consumer market.

Internet in Kenya costs a significant portion of household income. The average Kenyan household earns roughly KES 30,000-50,000 per month. Safaricom's cheapest home fiber at KES 2,249/month for 15 Mbps takes 4-7% of that income. By comparison, Americans spend about 1-2% of household income on broadband. This pricing barrier explains why mobile data bundles remain more popular than fixed broadband.

Mobile data bundles offer lower entry points. Safaricom sells 1 GB for about KES 99 and weekly bundles from KES 250 for 2.5 GB. Airtel counters with unlimited 1-hour data for KES 19 and 3-hour bundles at KES 45. These micro-bundles allow Kenyans to buy connectivity in small affordable amounts. Monthly mobile data plans range from KES 500 to KES 3,000 depending on data volume.

Fiber prices dropped in 2025. Safaricom cut business fiber rates 25%. Home fiber entry fell from KES 2,999 to KES 2,249 for 15 Mbps. Airtel's 5G home internet launched at KES 1,999 for 15 Mbps. Poa Internet offers the cheapest unlimited home internet at KES 1,575/month.

Competition from Starlink (KES 6,500/month after a KES 45,000 hardware kit) pressured established providers to lower prices. Most Kenya internet subscriptions fall in the 10-30 Mbps range. The 1 Gbps tier lost 18.5% of subscribers as users chose affordable mid-tier plans.

Kenya is Africa's digital payments leader. M-PESA handles over $300 billion in annual transactions with 47.7 million active subscriptions (91% mobile money penetration). This creates a direct link between mobile connectivity and financial access. Every M-PESA transaction requires a data connection, driving demand for reliable mobile internet.

5G deployment is underway but still early. Safaricom's 1,114 sites cover 102 towns but only 14% of the population. Airtel's 690+ sites span 39 counties. 5G adoption is growing through fixed wireless home internet products rather than smartphone use, since 5G handsets remain expensive for most Kenyans.

Fiber-to-the-home grew 42.9% year-over-year to 2.29 million subscriptions. Smartphone penetration reached 59.5% nationally and above 70% in urban areas. Kenya's tech ecosystem, centered in Nairobi's Silicon Savannah, drives adoption of cloud services, fintech apps, and digital government platforms. The Kenya National Digital Master Plan targets 100% broadband coverage by 2032.