The quality of mobile network in Kenya is deteriorating as operators struggled to keep up with surging demand, the industry regulator has warned, raising pressure on telecoms operators to ramp up infrastructure investment.
Fresh analysis by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) shows the industry’s overall quality of service performance has been on a downward trajectory in recent years, pointing to overstretched capacity as demand outpaces network upgrades and spectrum efficiency.
The latest assessment for the year ended June 2025 indicates that the industry’s average end-to-end quality score dropped to 68 percent, down from 73.49 percent a year earlier.
“This implies the need for more investment in network quality improvement to meet the increasing consumer demands and expansion in mobile service coverage,” said the regulator in its report.
The findings highlight growing strain on mobile networks as data consumption, voice traffic, and digital services continue to expand.
Kenya’s digital economy has expanded significantly in recent years, with the growth increasing reliance on mobile networks as the backbone of communication and financial transactions and amplifying the impact of poor connectivity.
Operators are facing mounting pressure to maintain service quality amid rising smartphone penetration, increased video streaming, and heightened enterprise connectivity demands.
During the period under review, Airtel and Telkom posted declines in the overall quality of service score, dropping to 81.14 percent and 52.76 percent, respectively, down from 83.3 percent and 67.6 percent, respectively, a year earlier.
Safaricom, on the other hand, recorded a marginal improvement, posting a score of 89.72 percent compared to 88.1 percent the previous year.
“The overall performance for Safaricom is 89.72 percent, and for Airtel is 81.14 percent; hence, they met the threshold of 80 percent. The overall performance for Telkom is 52.76 percent, hence it did not meet the threshold of 80 percent,” said the CA.
The continued underperformance by Telkom underscores persistent challenges in network investment and infrastructure expansion by the telco.
The regulator has, in recent years, intensified scrutiny on service quality, warning operators of penalties and tighter enforcement for failure to meet minimum standards.
Declining service quality translates into dropped calls, slower internet speeds, and unreliable connectivity, issues that directly affect daily communication and economic activity.
Businesses, particularly those reliant on digital platforms, are also exposed to productivity losses and operational inefficiencies arising from poor network performance.
Previous assessments have seen the CA issue warnings to underperforming firms and push for higher compliance thresholds, including a recent proposal to raise the minimum quality benchmark to 90 percent.
