Kenya’s mobile network operators delivered uneven and, in some cases, declining quality of service in the 2024–2025 financial year, according to a new report by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK). The findings reveal a widening performance gap between market leader Safaricom PLC and its competitors Airtel Networks Kenya Limited and Telkom Kenya Limited, while also pointing to an overall decline in service quality across the industry.
The regulator’s assessment, conducted across all 47 counties between, evaluated operators based on three metrics: end-to-end network performance, system-based network performance indicators, and customer experience surveys.
Safaricom emerged as the strongest performer overall, scoring 89.72%, followed by Airtel at 81.14%, while Telkom lagged significantly at 52.76%, falling well below the regulatory threshold of 80%.
Safaricom dominates core network performance
In end-to-end drive tests which carry the highest weighting of 60%, Safaricom outperformed its rivals by a wide margin. The operator recorded a score of 90.36%, comfortably exceeding the 80% target set by the regulator. In contrast, Airtel posted 76.47%, narrowly missing the threshold, while Telkom trailed at 47.94%, less than half of Safaricom’s performance.
Regionally, Safaricom maintained its lead by meeting quality targets in all five regional clusters. Airtel managed to meet targets in only two regions, underscoring inconsistencies in its network performance across the country. Telkom, meanwhile, failed to meet targets in any region, highlighting systemic network challenges.
The report also shows that while Safaricom leads, the broader industry trend is negative. Over a four-year period, average performance across all operators has been declining, signaling increased pressure on networks due to rising data consumption and subscriber growth.
Airtel edges Safaricom in select technical metrics
Despite trailing Safaricom in overall scores, Airtel demonstrated stronger performance in several key network performance indicators. Airtel recorded a lower unsuccessful call ratio of 0.24% compared to Safaricom’s 0.33%, indicating fewer failed call attempts. It also achieved a lower call drop rate of 0.22%, outperforming Safaricom’s 0.51%.
In data services, Airtel again showed a marginal advantage in access rates, scoring 99.41% compared to Safaricom’s 99.13%. However, Safaricom led in data service availability at 98.50%, ahead of Airtel’s 95.24%, suggesting more consistent service uptime.
Telkom’s performance across these indicators was markedly weaker. While it posted a high data service access rate of 99.98%, this was undermined by poor reliability metrics, including a significantly higher call drop rate of 6.86% and low data service availability at 73%.
Customer experience reveals mixed perceptions
Customer satisfaction data further illustrates the competitive divide, with Safaricom again leading overall at 70%, followed closely by Airtel at 68.4%, while Telkom lagged at 60%.
However, a deeper breakdown reveals that no single operator dominates across all customer experience categories. Telkom surprisingly led in network coverage satisfaction at 72.7%, outperforming both Safaricom (65.8%) and Airtel (65.0%). It also topped customer care accessibility at 79%, compared to Airtel’s 72.4% and Safaricom’s 67.0%.
Airtel, on the other hand, led in voice call quality at 64.6%, slightly ahead of Safaricom’s 63.0% and Telkom’s 62.7%. It also performed strongly in internet speed satisfaction at 26.6%, significantly outperforming Safaricom’s 10.6%, although Telkom led this category with 33.9%.
Safaricom’s strengths were more pronounced in reliability and service processes. It led in call connectivity reliability at 61.5%, ahead of Airtel’s 58.0% and Telkom’s 55.0%. The operator also ranked highest in billing satisfaction (73.1%) and billing transparency (82.5%), marginally outperforming Airtel and more decisively beating Telkom.
Missing data limits full assessment
The report notes that the Network Performance monitoring system — responsible for 25% of the total score — was not fully operational during the review period due to contractual issues. As a result, all operators except Telkom were assigned perfect scores in this category, potentially masking deeper performance differences.
Industry faces growing pressure
The findings paint a picture of a market where Safaricom remains dominant but is not immune to declining service quality trends. Airtel is closing gaps in specific technical areas but struggles with consistency, while Telkom faces significant operational challenges despite pockets of strong performance in customer perception metrics.
For consumers, the report underscores a key reality: no single operator delivers superior performance across all dimensions. While Safaricom leads overall, Airtel offers competitive advantages in call reliability and speed perception, and Telkom performs better in select customer-facing aspects such as accessibility.
The regulator’s report ultimately signals the need for sustained investment in network infrastructure as demand for mobile data and digital services continues to rise across Kenya.
