Airtel Kenya, the country’s second biggest telco by subscriptions, is working to launch a home fibre service, taking on Safaricom, Zuku, and Jamii Telecom’s Faiba in a battle for Kenya’s fast-growing broadband market.
Airtel Kenya managing director Ashish Malhotra said the service would be unveiled “soon” as part of the operator’s push to expand beyond mobile data.
“Airtel Fibre is something that we will embark upon in the course of time. We will have a launch for that and invite you soon,” Malhotra said on Wednesday during the groundbreaking for the telco’s 44MW data centre at Tatu City, on the outskirts of Nairobi.
“In days to come, months to come, we will launch our home hardware. It is work in progress.”Â
Airtel’s plan comes as demand for high-speed internet surges in Kenya, driven by remote work, online learning, and streaming. As of March 2025, the country had 1.86 million fixed broadband subscriptions, up from 1.3 million a year earlier, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya.
Safaricom leads the sector with 678,118 subscriptions (36.5%), followed by Faiba with 418,309 (22.5%), Zuku at 14.4% and Poa Internet at 14.1%. Airtel has no presence in fixed fibre but has offered a fixed wireless product since 2024, priced at KES 2,000 for an unlimited 15 Mbps plan.
Riding subscriber momentum?
Airtel Kenya’s push into home broadband comes amid gains in its core mobile business. The operator added 3 million new subscribers in Q1 of 2025, taking its base to 24.5 million, or 32.2% of the mobile market. Safaricom’s share fell to 63.3%, down from nearly 70% two years ago.
Fixed broadband has become a counterweight to slower growth in mobile voice and data. A price war or loss of market share would put pressure on margins. Smaller rivals like Zuku and Faiba, already under pressure, may struggle to match Airtel’s nationwide distribution and deep pockets.
Airtel Money, the company’s mobile money service, has also reached a record 9% share of the mobile money market, driven by lower transaction costs and an expanding agent network.
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