Airtel Rolling Out 5G Access in Kenya at Breakneck Speeds

-Ad-

If you thought Kenya’s data story had peaked, think again. The CA’s latest report shows 4G remains king, 5G is growing fast, and 3G is fading into history. This is the same trend captured in the CA’s previous report for January-March 2025, where 5G subscriptions rose by 17.1%, 4G by about 1.5M users while 2G usage also saw an unexpected jump in usage.

By June 2025, 81.2% of all broadband subscriptions were on 4G, while 5G data usage shot up 64% in just three months. Compare that to March, when broadband subscriptions were barely growing (+2.4%). The acceleration is clear: Kenyans want speed.

As per the latest stats, Kenya now has 1.2M 5G subscriptions compared to 0.7M a year ago. This means Kenya added over half a million 5G subscriptions between June 2024 and June 2025. At the same time, 4G subscriptions have been on the rise, but the same can’t be said of 2G and 3G subscriptions, which are both on a steady decline.

Mobile-data-and-broadband-services-June-2025-Kenya

But speed isn’t free. The average pay-as-you-go data rate is KES 4.47 per MB, which is still pricey compared to global averages. Still, Kenyans consumed 43,865.6 TB of 5G data as of June 2025, up from 6,657.5 TB of 5G mobile data a year ago, an average of 35.2GB per user. Airtel remains the most affordable provider, charging KES 2.93 per minute for calls, while Safaricom sticks to its premium rate of KES 4.87 per minute.

-Ad-

What this means for users is that network choice isn’t just about coverage anymore. It’s about affordability. Many users keep multiple SIMs, one for M-Pesa, another for data bundles. And this explains why Kenya now has more SIM cards than people.

For telcos, the battle has clearly shifted from voice to data. That’s why Airtel is doubling down on “Smarta” bundles, Safaricom is pushing 5G, and Telkom is trying to stay relevant in what clearly is a two-horse race.