The number of internet subscriptions has dropped by 0.7% in Q3 2019/2020 based on data revealed by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
As of March 31, 2020, Kenya has 39.3 million active data subscriptions, a drop from 39.6 recorded in the preceding quarter.
This drop has been linked to Telkom Kenya, which, at one time, stopped releasing data-based products and services as it anticipated a merger with Airtel Kenya.
Telkom has since rolled back to making investments in the space, and is one of the most appealing data products for young people due to its affordability.
In terms of market share, Safaricom tops the list at 68.8%, followed by Airtel, Telkom, and Equitel at 25.8%, 5%, and 0.4% respectively.
Fixed Internet subscriptions
Home data and fibre-to-the-office constitute the largest share of broadband users.
Out of 541600 subscriptions that used fixed internet, 310495 use plans that range from 2 Mbps to 10 Mbps, making the tier the most popular subscription.
In terms of subscriptions by service provider, Wananchi Group that operates Zuku tops the list with 188167 subscriptions.
To give you some context, here is what our Editor Kiruti had to say about these numbers:
Only 541,600 households in Kenya have fixed data subscriptions in their house. We have around 12.1 million households in Kenya so that is only a 4.47% penetration. So if you have WiFi in your house, you're among the 4% in the country
— 𝚔𝚒𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚒 (@kiruti) July 2, 2020
It is then followed closely by Safaricom’s Home Fibre that reported 185821 subscriptions in the quarter under analysis.
This translates 34.7% and 34.3% market share for Wananchi and Home Fibre, respectively. The top 5 list also features Jamii Telecoms (14.4%), Poa! Internet (9.8%) and Microsoft Kenya’s co-owned Mawingu Networks (1.9%).
