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Number of 5G subscriptions in Kenya cross one-milllion mark
Growth in adoption of 5G in Kenya has been driven by both rapidly evolving technological advancements, as well as aggressive expansion initiatives spearheaded by the country’s leading telcos – Safaricom and Airtel.
The number of mobile data subscribers connected to the super-fast fifth-generation (5G) grid in Kenya grew 9.1 percent during the three months ended last December crossing a million.
Fresh data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), however, shows this was a slower growth pace compared to the 25.4 percent witnessed during the preceding quarter which drove the number of users to 926,382 by the end of September 2024.
The regulator categorises 5G subscribers, whose number in the country stands at 1.01 million, as those owning enabled devices and are consistently connected to the network.
The technology is much faster than 4G but requires more high-end smart gadgets in addition to expensive data bundles that are out of reach for many.
Growth in adoption of 5G in Kenya has been driven by both rapidly evolving technological advancements, as well as aggressive expansion initiatives spearheaded by the country’s leading telcos – Safaricom and Airtel.
“Online activities such as streaming movies, online learning, remote work, among others have accelerated demand for high-speed internet leading to increased uptake of higher generation mobile technologies as is the case of 4G and 5G,” wrote CA.
The 5G service was first commercially launched by Safaricom in October 2022 following trials from March 2021 in major urban centres with heightened data traffic.
Airtel Kenya would later join in as the prime rival in mid-2023 and overtook Safaricom in rolling out 5G sites before the latter intensified its expansion efforts to claim the top spot with 803 sites in March last year against Airtel’s 690.
The 4G network remains the most widely used technology, growing 11.6 percent during the quarter to last December to hit 34.8 million up from 31.2 million in September, while users on 3G and 2G networks dipped 2.2 percent to 7.6 million and 7.9 percent to 12.7 million respectively during the period.
The CA data indicates that the overall number of mobile data subscribers across all networks rose 4.5 percent during the review period to 56.1 million, up from 53.7 million at the end of September.
“Mobile broadband volume consumed during the reference period increased by 12.8 percent to 568,315.8 Terabytes. Consequently, the average mobile broadband consumption per mobile broadband subscription increased from 12.6 GB to 13.1 GB,” noted CA.
