There are an estimated 21.82 million internet users in Kenya. This number of internet users is projected to progressively grow by 14.5 million users (+66.45%) in the next five years. Hence, the number of users is estimated to reach 36.31 million users by 2029. Of course, there is a technology infrastructure that makes internet connection and scaling possible. It could be a submarine cable or a satellite.
Within the country, Kenyans access the internet via mobile data, home WIFI, public WIFI etc. So how does the internet get to the country?
READ: How to become an ISP in Kenya
Most of the world’s internet travels via Sea. Globally, the physical hardware is made up of more than 5 billion kilometres of fiber-optic cable. Currently, there are about 574 active submarine cables that span over 1 million kilometres in length.
While the cables are undersea, above us we have a constellation of more than 5,400 satellites offering connectivity from low earth orbit (LEO). However, satellites are capacity-constrained. If you put together all the capacity from all satellite constellations, they would still account for less than one-tenth the capacity of a single, modern fibre-optic undersea cable.
Out of the 574 submarine cables, 74 cable systems are connected to Africa. Most are active but some are under construction.
For Kenya, our internet-primarily comes from the submarine cables. The country got its first submarine cable connection in 2009. Since then, the number has grown to 8, 6 submarine cables are active and 2 are under construction.
According to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) data for 2023 last quarter, the total available internet bandwidth capacity in the country is 17,353.722 Gbps.
What is a Submarine Cable?
The modern-day submarine cables utilize fiber-optic technology. They have lasers that send data from one end at high speed through thin glass fibers to receptors at the other end of the cable. The glass fibers are coated in layers of plastic (and sometimes steel wire). The coating is for protection purposes.
Submarine cables have Potential capacity. This is the total amount of capacity that would be possible if the cable’s owner installed all available equipment at the ends of the cable. On the other hand, cables have Lit capacity. This is the amount of capacity that is actually running over a cable.
Usually, submarine cable operates at Lit Capacity which is continuously upgraded based on customer demand. Fibre cables can carry roughly 100 gigabytes of data per second on average, with newer cables capable of up to 500 gigabytes per second.
READ: Kenya Only Utilizes Half Its Available Internet Bandwidth Capacity
Submarine cables connect to land via landing stations. Obviously, landing stations are in coastal towns like Mombasa and Mtwapa. They serve to convert the submarine cable into a terrestrial cable and distribute the data carried on the networks. Further, they provide power to the submarine cable.
Let’s have a look at the submarine cables that serve Kenya.
TEAMS Submarine Cable
Kenya’s first submarine cable, the East African Marine System (TEAMS), launched in June 2009. The submarine cable system was ready for service on 1st October of the same year. TEAMS was a government initiative to link Kenya to the rest of the world.
TEAMS cable system is 85% owned by TEAMs (Kenya) Ltd and 15% owned by Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The shareholders of TEAMS (Kenya) Ltd are 20% Government of Kenya (GoK) and 23% Telkom Kenya among others.
The others are local telecommunications companies including Safaricom and Jamii Telcom. Safaricom owns a 32.5% stake, Liquid Telecom– 10%, Jamii Telecom – 6.25%, 6% – Wananchi Group, Internet Solutions Kenya Ltd and BCS Kenya own the rest of the shares.
TEAMS 5,500Km in length and has two with two fiber pairs and an upgradeable system capacity of 5.6Tbps.
The subsea cable connects Mombasa in Kenya to Fujairah in the UAE. It was deployed by the Alcatel Submarine Network (ASN). The cable’s landing point is a Telkom-owned facility in Mombasa.
TEAMS cable is connected to the Kenya national fiber backbone network (NOFBI).
SEACOM
Soon after TEAMS arrived in Kenya, SEACOM followed in July 2009. It is a Submarine cable system that runs along the Eastern and Southern coasts of Africa. The cable’s capacity was upgraded to 1.5 Tbps capacity in 2018. SubCom is the company that installed the cable.
The SEACOM submarine cable length is 15,000 km. It has landing points in Djibouti City, Djibouti, Zafarana, Egypt, Mumbai, India, Mombasa, Kenya, Maputo, Mozambique, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Mtunzini, South Africa and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
According to data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), SEACOM’s Lit capacity in Kenya is 3,920.000 Gbps.
SEACOM is owned by SEACOM and Tata Communications. The East African section of the submarine cable is completely owned by SEACOM. The company also owns the two fiber pairs between Egypt and India.
Seacom’s shareholders are South African businesses Remgro (30%), Sanlam (15%), Convergence Partners (15%), Kenya’s Aga Khan Foundation (30%) and founder Brian Herlihy (10%).
EASSy Submarine Cable
Eastern Africa Submarine System (EASSy) is a submarine cable along the East coast of Africa that is 10,500 Km in length. The cable system was ready for service in July 2010 and was deployed by ASN.
Like SEACOM, it has nine landing points. These are Moroni in Comoros, Haramous in Djibouti, Mombasa in Kenya, Toliara in Madagascar, Maputo in Mozambique, Mogadishu in Somalia, Mtunzini in South Africa, Port Sudan in Sudan, and Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania.
The EASSy Consortium consists of 18 members. They are: BT, Bayobab, Bharti Airtel, Botswana Fibre Networks, Comores Telecom, Djibouti Telecom, Etisalat UAE, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Mauritius Telecom, Orange, Saudi Telecom, Sudatel, Tanzania Telecommunication Corporation, Telkom Kenya, Telkom South Africa, Telma (Telecom Malagasy), Vodacom DRC, WIOCC, and Zambia Telecom
WIOCC is the largest shareholder in the EASSy Consortium and owns 29% of the EASSy cable system. WIOCC is also a huge consortium made up of 18 members. Telkom Kenya is part of the WIOCC consortium.
The EASSy project costs an initial investment of approximately US$ 235 million. It has a system capacity of 36Tbps. The subsea cable provides a backhaul system for at least 12 landlocked countries.
Its Kenya landing point is managed by Telkom Kenya. CA data indicates that EASSy has a Lit capacity of 5,450.000 Gbps in Kenya.
LION2
LION2 (Lower Indian Ocean NetWork II) is a 2,700 km extension of the LION cable to Kenya via Mayotte. The 2,700 km long subsea cable has been in service since April 2012. LION2 was installed by ASN.
The LION2 consortium includes Emtel, Mauritius Telecom, Orange, Orange Madagascar, Société Réunionnaise du Radiotéléphone, and Telkom Kenya.
It has landing points in Nyali, Kenya and Kaweni in Mayotte. The Kenyan landing point is managed by Telkom Kenya. CA data indicates LION2 Lit capacity in Kenya is 820.500 Gbps.
DARE1 Submarine Cable
Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1(DARE1) submarine cable system connects Djibouti (Djibouti), Bosaso (Somalia), Mogadishu (Somalia) and Mombasa (Kenya). The 4,854 km subsea cable came into service in February 2021. It was installed by SubCom.
The DARE1 cable system is designed with a three-fibre-pair trunk, with each fibre pair delivering a capacity of 120 channels at 100 Gbps. DARE1 consortium is currently composed of Djibouti Telecom, Hormuud Telecom Somalia, Somtel International and Telkom Kenya.
The subsea cable has landing points in Djibouti City, Djibouti, Mombasa, Kenya, Bosaso, Somalia and Mogadishu, Somalia.
DARE1 cable system delivers 36 Tbps of capacity to East Africa. CA data shows the total available internet bandwidth capacity in Kenya from DARE1 is 1,386.000 Gbps.
PEACE Submarine Cable
In March 2022 the Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) became the sixth submarine cable to terminate in Kenya. Today it’s 15,000 km long and was installed by HMN Tech. There are plans to extend the cable to 25,000Km.
The owners of the subsea cable are Peace Cable International Network Co. Ltd. Total investment into the Cable is US$ 425 Million. PEACE Cable International Network CO. LTD was founded in 2018 and registered in Hong Kong.
PEACE Landing Points are Yeroskipos, Cyprus, Abu Talat, Egypt, Zafarana, Egypt, Marseille, France, Mombasa, Kenya, Kulhudhufushi, Maldives, Mellieha, Malta, Karachi, Pakistan, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia, Victoria, Seychelles, Tuas, Singapore, Bizerte, Tunisia and Berbera, Somalia.
PEACE has a designed capacity of up to 24Tbps per fiber pair. The total available internet bandwidth capacity in Kenya from PEACE is 1,651.405 Gbps.
2Africa and Africa1
These are the subsea cables currently under construction and are expected to be the 7th and 8th submarine cables to supply internet to Kenya. 2Africa is expected to go into service in 2024.
It is a 45,000 km cable under installation by ASN. The owners are Bayobab, China Mobile, Meta, Orange, Saudi Telecom, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone, and the WIOCC consortium. 2Africa will terminate at 2 landing points in Kenya. One in Mtwapa and the other in Mombasa.
Africa1 is also expected to come into service in the fourth quarter of 2024. It is a 10,000km cable connecting Europe with the East coast of Africa and the Middle East. The Kenyan landing point is at Mombasa. ASN is the company installing Africa1 submarine cable which is owned by a consortium of 6 telecommunications companies.
NOFBI
In Kenya, once the internet lands, it is transmitted via terrestrial networks owned by both the private sector and the government. In the last decade, GoK has implemented three phases of the National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI). The terrestrial fibre has reached the sub-county level, mainly connecting key government institutions and offices.
NOFBI phase between 2005-2009 and led to the laying of 4300 km of terrestrial fibre. The NOFBI Phase 2 project started in September 2014 laying 2,100km fibre links and IP equipment to all the 47-county headquarters. During this phase, the metropolitan area networks in all 47 county headquarters were built. The government has built a total of 534km of metro, mostly in Nairobi and County headquarters.
In 2017, GoK started the NOFBI 2E network with a scope of 2,500km fibre links and IP equipment majorly covering sub-counties and creating sub-rings to further increase redundancy. In total, 8,900km of terrestrial cable has been installed by the government.
How Kenyans Connect to the Internet
Kenyans access the internet primarily via mobile devices, laptops, and desktop computers among other smart devices. As mobile phones remain the primary source of internet access, mobile data subscriptions are vital.
CA data shows that 4G technology contributes up to 51.5 per cent of total mobile data subscriptions. In addition, mobile data volumes consumed within the 4G network accounted for 82.7 per cent of total data volumes. Kenya’s 4G mobile network population coverage in the country is currently at 97 percent with 2G and 3G leading at 98 percent. In FY 2023, Safaricom added a total of 2.3 million 4G devices to its network.
What is encouraging is the fact that access to smartphone devices is also improving. Based on data for Q4 2023, smartphone penetration in the country is currently at 66.4 per cent.
5G in Kenya
5G mobile data subscriptions are also growing. Today, Kenya has 586,684 5G users. The growth reflects Kenyan telco’s efforts to expand 5G coverage, making 5G bundles and devices – both smartphones and routers affordable.
Kenya now has three networks that offer 5G services across the country including Safaricom, Airtel and recently, Equitel. Safaricom has now rolled out active 5G sites to 35 of the 47 counties.
Read: Which Countries Have Launched 5G in Africa?
Airtel rolled out its 5G network in July 2023 and expanded to 32 counties in Kenya. Equitel launched their 5G network in March 2024. It is now available across 370 locations from the coast, the lakeside and the north rift. Equitel 5G is accessible in Mombasa, Nairobi, Athi River, Kisumu, Kakamega, Bungoma, Eldoret and Siaya.
Kenya Fixed Data and Broadband Subscriptions
A small fraction of Kenyans have fixed data subscriptions that provide them with internet access. These are Kenyans with home Wi-Fi subscription plans, satellite subscriptions and more. CA data from Q4 2023 shows that Kenya has 1,332,013 fixed data subscriptions. Notably, only 2.3% of Kenyans have fixed data subscriptions.
The bulk of these subscriptions are Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH). There are currently 756,681 FTTH subscriptions representing 56.8% of total subscriptions. Fibre-To-The-Office (FTTO) subscriptions are 78,230 while fixed wireless is 294,844. There are currently 198,351 cable modem subscriptions in the country.
Satellite Internet Providers in Kenya
Despite the entry of Starlink in Kenya’s market, satellite subscriptions are just 2,933. This is just 0.22% of the total fixed data subscriptions. Last year, Vodafone Group PLC, Safaricom’s parent company signed a contract with AST Space Mobile (Starlink’s rival) to enable Safaricom leverage AST Space Mobile’s technology and infrastructure to offer satellite-based connectivity to its customers in Kenya.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Kenya
The companies offering fixed data services in the country have been growing in number. Wananchi Group was the first to offer FTTH but it was joined by Jamii Telcom and Safaricom who have since taken the giant market share.
Safaricom has extended its fibre optic cable footprint to 14,000 kilometres. The telco has also connected over 26,860 businesses through its 4G LTE. There are various home internet service providers in Kenya. Most are primarily in Nairobi and other towns. Some like Poa Internet, have grown to challenge the big players. Another like Mawingu Networks Ltd focusses majorly on rural based customers.
The majority of internet subscribers in Kenya (625,984) receive bandwidth between 2 Mbps and 10 Mbps from ISPs. This is 46.9% while 31.9% (424,812) subscriptions are between 10 Mbp and 30 Mbp. 9,906 subscriptions are between 100 Mbps and 1Gbps. Only 362 subscriptions are above 1 Gbps.
Today, most aspects of Kenyans network is provided by private entities, used by private entities, but relied on by the public.
