The sector statistics report shows that active mobile subscriptions rose to 88 million at the end of June 2026, a 4.6% increase from the previous quarter, giving a penetration rate of 165%.

Safaricom remains the largest operator with 69.8% of all subscriptions, while Airtel and Telkom Kenya split the remaining share, with Telkom trailing in most regulator‑tracked categories.

Prepaid lines dominate the market, accounting for roughly 97% of every 100 mobile lines, with postpaid lines representing only about 3%.

Factors behind the growth

Operators attribute most of the increase to customer win‑back campaigns that reactivate inactive or lost subscribers rather than attracting first‑time users.

Smartphone connections rose to 52.3 million, up 4.2% quarter‑on‑quarter, while feature‑phone connections fell 3.9% to 27.4 million, reflecting a shift toward data‑centric devices.

The broader rollout of 4G and 5G networks is encouraging this transition, making basic phones less suitable for the internet‑based services Kenyans increasingly rely on.

Emerging segments and employment trends

Machine‑to‑machine (M2M) subscriptions grew 11% in the quarter and 24.1% over the year, reaching 2.22 million, driven by IoT applications such as vehicle trackers, payment terminals and smart meters.

Mobile network operators employed 11,660 people as of June 2026, a 46% rise from a year earlier, with a gender composition of 56% male and 44% female, indicating workforce expansion linked to new services and network upgrades.