NAIROBI, Kenya — Safaricom has become the first internet service provider in Kenya to surpass one million fixed internet subscriptions, cementing its position as the country’s largest provider as demand for home and business connectivity continues to expand.
The telecommunications company closed June 2026 with 1.025 million fixed internet subscriptions, representing a 39.3 per cent increase from 735,749 subscriptions recorded a year earlier.
Kenya’s overall fixed internet market also expanded sharply, rising 32.4 per cent year-on-year to 2.84 million subscriptions.
Safaricom Crosses One Million Mark
Safaricom’s latest milestone marks a significant expansion of its fixed internet business, which has grown rapidly over the past decade.
The company’s subscriptions stood at 269,397 five years earlier in June 2021, before rising to 735,749 in June 2025.
In September 2017, Safaricom had just 40,015 fixed internet subscriptions.
The growth has lifted Safaricom’s market share from 15.2 per cent in September 2017 to 36.1 per cent by June 2026.
The wider market has also expanded substantially, with fixed internet subscriptions increasing 286.6 per cent from 734,329 in June 2021 and more than tenfold from September 2017.
Jamii, Wananchi Follow Safaricom
Jamii Telecommunications remained Kenya’s second-largest fixed internet provider at the end of June, with 541,003 subscriptions, giving it a 19.1 per cent market share.
Wananchi Group ranked third with 294,375 subscriptions, equivalent to 10.4 per cent of the market.
The rankings below the top three, however, saw a notable change as Ahadi Wireless, which operates Konnect Internet, overtook Poa Internet.
Ahadi ended June with 270,586 subscriptions and a 9.5 per cent market share, making it Kenya’s fourth-largest fixed internet provider.
Poa Internet Loses Ground
Poa Internet’s subscriber base moved in the opposite direction.
The provider recorded 248,601 subscriptions, down 3.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 7.4 per cent compared with a year earlier.
Poa has now recorded four consecutive quarterly declines from its June 2025 peak of 268,554 subscriptions.
Its market share has subsequently fallen to 8.8 per cent.
The figures point to a changing competitive landscape as providers compete for customers in Kenya’s rapidly expanding fixed connectivity market.
Vilcom Records Fastest Growth
Vilcom recorded the fastest growth among the major providers during the period.
Its subscriptions more than doubled year-on-year from 87,654 to 186,240, lifting its market share to 6.6 per cent.
Mawingu also recorded strong growth, increasing its subscriber base by 37.3 per cent to 105,275.
Satellite provider Starlink grew by 58.5 per cent, reaching 27,616 subscriptions by June.
The growth among smaller and alternative providers reflects increasing competition beyond traditional fibre-based networks.
Fibre Remains Dominant as Wireless Expands
Fibre optic remained Kenya’s largest fixed internet access technology, with subscriptions increasing 29.7 per cent year-on-year to 1.57 million.
Terrestrial wireless connections grew faster, rising 42.9 per cent to 1.03 million subscriptions.
Satellite internet also continued to expand rapidly, with subscriptions increasing 54.4 per cent to 27,695.
The figures indicate that while fibre remains the dominant technology, wireless and satellite connections are gaining ground as providers target areas where conventional fibre infrastructure is more difficult or expensive to deploy.
Internet Competition Intensifies
The expansion of the market has been accompanied by increasingly aggressive competition on speeds and pricing.
Safaricom increased speeds across several of its Home Fibre packages in April without corresponding increases in monthly prices.
Zuku also increased speeds across several packages in May.
The ownership structure of the market has changed as well. AXIAN Telecom Fibre completed its acquisition of 99.63 per cent of Wananchi Group in 2025, bringing a major change to the ownership of the company behind Zuku.
Mawingu has separately secured a US$20 million investment from Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund II to support expansion into underserved markets.
