Fast, reliable internet might be standard in Nairobi’s leafy suburbs, but beyond the cities, the picture is very different. The latest Kenya Housing Survey, released by the CA, reveals that just 0.6% of rural households have fixed internet.
The contrast with urban Kenya is striking: 17.3% of urban homes enjoy fixed broadband. Even at a national level, fixed internet is rare with only 7% of households are connected. That leaves the vast majority relying on mobile phones for data or, in many rural areas, no internet at all.
Mobile internet is Kenya’s real connectivity workhorse, with 36.3% of households nationally having some form of internet connection, mostly via mobile networks. Urban homes (54.1%) are far more likely to be connected than rural ones (25.1%). Counties like Nairobi, Kiambu, and parts of North Eastern lead the country in internet accessibility as highlighted in a recent CA report on connectivity gaps. At the other end, many counties in Western and South Nyanza remain among the least connected.
Even in cities, most internet access happens through mobile phones. Fixed broadband is often used by households where multiple people work or study from home, or where heavy streaming and downloads are common. Urban providers like Faiba, Safaricom, and Zuku compete for this market, with Faiba topping speed tests, Safaricom excelling in streaming quality, and Zuku delivering the best latency for gamers.
In rural areas, affordability is a major barrier. Fixed-line packages often cost more than entire monthly household budgets, and providers may not even offer service in remote areas. Infrastructure is the other challenge: laying fibre or even maintaining wireless distribution in sparsely populated, geographically challenging regions is costly and logistically complex.
The ICT report also shows that only 8.8% of households own a computer, and just 2% have any smart home technology. For rural areas, those numbers are even lower. Without fixed internet, services like telemedicine, e-learning, and reliable remote work remain out of reach for millions.
Bridging this gap will require more than just private sector investment. Government-backed rural broadband projects, subsidies for household connections, and community Wi-Fi initiatives could all play a role in expanding access. But as it stands, fixed broadband is a city luxury and unless something changes, the rural-urban divide in digital opportunity will only grow wider.
Discover more from Techish Kenya
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
