By Robai Ludenyi
Safaricom has strengthened its dominance in Kenya’s telecommunications industry after adding more than 10.3 million active mobile subscriptions during the 2025/26 financial year, while competitors Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya recorded declines in their customer bases.
Data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), published in its four quarterly sector statistics reports, shows that Safaricom’s active subscriptions increased from 51.12 million in September 2025 to 61.45 million by June 30, 2026. This represents a 20.2 per cent increase over the nine months covered by the reports.
Airtel Networks Kenya, on the other hand, lost 456,549 subscriptions, ending the period with approximately 23.6 million active lines. Telkom Kenya experienced a larger proportional decline, with its subscriber base falling from 868,788 to 545,765 lines.
The total number of active mobile subscriptions across the Kenyan market increased by 9.68 million during the period. Safaricom alone accounted for 10.32 million of those additional lines, meaning its growth exceeded the industry’s overall net increase.
According to the Communications Authority, the telecommunications sector continued to expand during the financial year, reaching 88 million active mobile subscriptions by the end of June 2026. The regulator attributed the increase partly to customer
win-back campaigns implemented by mobile network operators.
Safaricom’s share of the mobile subscription market rose from 65.3 per cent in September 2025 to 69.8 per cent in June 2026. Airtel’s market share declined from 30.7 per cent to 26.8 per cent over the same period. The regulator also identified Safaricom as the market leader in mobile broadband subscriptions, with a 64.4 per cent share, and mobile money transfer services, where it held an 88.8 per cent share by June 2026.
However, the number of active lines does not necessarily represent the number of individual customers. The CA defines an active subscription as a line that has generated revenue within the previous three months. Kenya recorded 88 million active SIM subscriptions compared with 79.68 million connected handsets, highlighting the presence of multiple lines held by some users.
Safaricom also maintained a significant advantage in voice calls, SMS traffic and industry revenue.
During the financial year, the company carried 80.33 billion voice minutes compared with Airtel’s 46.19 billion. Safaricom’s SMS traffic reached 52.79 billion messages, while Airtel recorded 4.33 billion. Despite its strong performance, Safaricom faces competition in selected markets. Its share of mobile money subscriptions fell from 89.7 per cent to 88.8 per cent, while Airtel Money’s share increased to 11.1 per cent. In the fixed internet sector, Safaricom surpassed one million subscriptions in June, but its
market share increased only slightly to 36.1 per cent as competing providers expanded their networks.