99 per cent of Kenya’s Ever-Increasing Data Subscriptions are Mobile-Based

As days glide by, it is becoming more clear why the internet is important to us, and while the older generation blames millennials for spending too much time hooked on their cellular, internet-enabled gadgets, this is something that will keep getting bigger thanks to many dynamics and intricacies that make the platform an attractive work and entertainment tool. It is a crucial aspect of life so much that it is a human right violation to take it away.

According to the latest sector report from Kenya’s ICT babysitter Communications Authority for the financial year 2016/2017, data/internet services showcased an upward trend (which has been the case for previous quarters). The fourth quarter for the FY that ended in June 2017 registered a total of 29.6 million internet subscriptions. This is a 15.2% bump from 25.7 million from the preceding quarter. Unsurprisingly, the growth was accelerated by a 15.3% jump in mobile data subscription to 29.4 million, which makes up 99% of total subscriptions.

The reason for these gains are the same as before; smartphones are becoming pocket-friendly and are increasingly easy to get access to if you take some of these deals into account. At the same time, carriers are always giving users the best deals to access the service. Such deals, which include free WhatsApp by Telkom Kenya, amazing bundles by Airtel as well as Safaricom’s Tunukiwa (that I’m a fan of) may have influenced this growth as they meet the demands of various internet users’ niches.

The same trend is seen for fibre optic data subscription, which continue to grow. In the quarter under scrutiny, a total of 54,700 subscriptions were made, which is a significant bump from 48,040 recorded in the previous quarter.

To sum it up, and as you may have already guessed, Safaricom rules these numbers with a share of 77.1%, which is a 2.2% jump from the previous quarter. Airtel Kenya comes second with 15.6 % market share. Telkom Kenya is third with 6.2%. Other players are summarized in the chart above.