Kenya’s fixed internet market looks like it has entered one of those rare moments when a sector stops moving gradually and starts accelerating forward in big steps. The last time we saw something like this was when Starlink entered the market three years ago and the majority of incumbents were forced to rethink both their pricing and bandwidth strategies in order to keep customers from switching. 

Therefore, what is happening now feels very similar, except this time the change is coming not just from one external disruptor but from a cluster of aggressive moves across the fixed internet market itself, with Safaricom, Savanna Fibre, and Airtel all reshaping the competitive scenario from different perspectives. 

There is a strong case to be made that Kenya’s fixed internet market is heading into a highly disruptive price and bandwidth war. This matters as the fixed internet market is no longer a niche category serving a relatively small number of urban and peri-urban consumers. 

Kenya’s Fixed Internet Sector Statistics Offer Some Highly Relevant Insights

According to the latest Communications Authority sector statistics, Kenya had 2,461,981 fixed internet subscriptions by the end of December 2025, up 7.4 percent quarter-on-quarter, while wired subscriptions stood at 1,581,556 and fibre subscriptions alone reached 1,378,198, up 8.3 percent in the quarter. 

Safaricom is leading the market with 858,394 subscriptions and a 34.9 percent share, followed by Jamii Telecommunications (JTL Faiba) with 494,150 subscriptions and 20.1 percent, and Wananchi Group (Zuku) with 272,802 subscriptions and 11.1 percent. Poa! Internet follows at 263,305 subscriptions and 10.7 percent, Ahadi at 222,060 and 9.0 percent, Vilcom at 133,316 and 5.4 percent, and Mawingu at 92,016 and 3.7 percent, with Starlink still relatively small in fixed subscriptions at 22,282 and 0.9 percent.

More importantly, the market is increasingly concentrated in the mid-to-high-speed tiers that are now being aggressively contested: 1,001,482 subscriptions sat in the 10 Mbps to under 30 Mbps range, 312,947 were in the 30 Mbps to under 100 Mbps range, and 226,805 were already above 100 Mbps and below 1 Gbps.

Key Drivers Behind The Current Market Disruptions 

What makes this moment even more interesting is timing. Last week, Airtel’s fibre proposition became apparent at the Connected Summit in Nairobi when I saw their fibre internet plans at their exhibition stand for the very first time and blogged about it, while Safaricom also used the same broader market moment to unveil higher-bandwidth fibre plans. 

This means that the fixed internet market is no longer waiting for a single isolated disruption; instead, multiple players have triggered a seismic shift to the rules of the game are being rewritten all at the same time. Ultimately, it means the entire fixed internet market in Kenya has now reached a strategic inflection point where price, bandwidth, fair usage policies (FUPs), and payment flexibility are all changing, all at the same time. 

Safaricom’s Faster Speeds & Lower Pricing 

Safaricom’s latest move highly significant. Based on the revised pricing and speeds that surfaced last week, Safaricom’s home fibre internet plans now appears to be structured as follows:

• Bronze: 40 Mbps at Ksh 2,250.
• Silver: 60 Mbps at Ksh 3,075.
• Gold: 150 Mbps at Ksh 4,725.
• Diamond: 500 Mbps at Ksh 9,375.
• Platinum: 1 Gbps at Ksh 20,000.

Safaricom is not acting like a complacent incumbent but as the dominant market leader that they are and have decided that the competitive threat is serious enough to rethink their fixed home internet offerings. 

However, Safaricom’s revised fair usage policy (FUP) is being discussed publicly as they have quietly reduced their generous 15TB monthly usage limit to a much lower at 1.5TB. This is actually a big deal as many consumers are likely to exceed this new limit going forward and it may influence service purchase and retention decisions of prospective and existing customers. 

Savanna Fibre’s Impressively Fast & Competitively Priced Plans 

Savanna Fibre may actually be the most important disrupter in this current moment as its fast internet speeds and highly competitive pricing are probably the main catalyst that compelled Safaricom to rethink their own internet plans. 

• 100 Mbps at Ksh 2,000.
• 250 Mbps at Ksh 4,500.
• 500 Mbps at Ksh 6,000.
• 1 Gbps at Ksh 10,000.

A 100 Mbps home fibre internet plan at Ksh 2,000 seriously undercuts anything that came before about what consumers would typically pay for high speed fixed home internet in Kenya. The 1 Gbps plan at Ksh 10,000 also makes gigabit home internet feel less like a vanity service and more like a realistically accessible offering for many more consumers in Kenya. 

This is why Savanna Fibre is probably the one to watch most closely. It’s intentionally disrupting the market on price-per-megabit basis. It’s not just joining the market; it is resetting it and as a result, Safaricom’s new price-versus-speed response begins to make a lot more sense.

Airtel’s Quiet Fibre Internet Market Entry

Airtel’s role in this story is slightly different, but no less important. As I picked up during this week’s Connected Summit, Airtel has been quietly rolling out its fibre-based internet service, XStream Fibre, even though they have not yet officially launched it with a big and loud campaign in the market as of this writing. This suggests that Airtel is still building out its fibre network at the moment but they are already up and running with the following plans: 

• 15 Mbps at Ksh 1,999.
• 30 Mbps at Ksh 2,999.
• 60 Mbps at Ksh 3,999.
• 100 Mbps at Ksh 4,999.

This pricing approach slots Airtel directly into the heart of the mass market and upper-mass market, especially for single users, households, and SMEs that want fair pricing for decent internet speeds.

The Kadogo Economy Angle

Going forward, there is a real possibility that the fixed internet service providers will begin experimenting more aggressively with weekly and even daily payment options in order to deepen access, especially for consumers who live within the ‘kadogo economy’.

This thinking matters because a large part of Kenyan consumer behavior is built around affordability in smaller (kadogo in kiswahili), more manageable increments rather than large fixed monthly commitments. In this respect, for instance, Poa! Internet is already doing this through its weekly bundles, including a 5 Mbps unlimited proposition at Ksh 450 per week, alongside monthly plans from Ksh 1,575.

Starlink’s Market Entry 3 Years Ago Is Once Again Highly Relevant 

When Starlink entered the market 3 years ago, incumbent fixed internet service providers probably over-reacted when they dramatically reduced their pricing and increased their speeds. The difference now is that this feels even more significant for a number of reasons. 

Higher speeds at lower prices often change internet behavior in many ways. As bandwidth gets inexpensive, households stream more, work more from home, upgrade to more connected devices, consume more cloud-based services, and become more comfortable with bandwidth-heavy activities that previously felt optional or expensive.

Safaricom is defending its leadership through repricing and speed upgrades. Savanna Fibre is disrupting with shockingly low price points and very fast speeds. Airtel is quietly building towards full stack capabilities across mobile and fibre internet offerings.

The last time the market felt this unsettled was when Starlink arrived three years ago and forced everyone to rethink the rules. This time, the disruption is coming from within the established fixed internet market and this makes it even more interesting for all stakeholders.