With rising adoption of smartphones, revenue from mobile data continues to account for a significant share of earnings by telcos in Kenya.

For the fiscal year ended 31 December 2026, Safaricom reported 14.4 percent rise in mobile data revenue to KSh83.35 billion even as earnings from voice services posted a marginal 1.3 percent jump to KSh81.82 billion.

Safaricom's FY2026 disclosures show that mobile data now accounts for 42.1 percent of all revenue recorded from the telco's connectivity business, just a margin ahead of voice's 41.3 percent.

This increase is attributable to the telco's continued investment in the next generation networks, especially 4G and 5G, amid a push to provide affordable smartphones targeting millions of tech savvy population.

“Mobile data became the largest contributor to connectivity revenue, representing 42.1 per cent overtaking voice at 41.3 per cent, underscoring the continued shift in customer usage patterns,” Safaricom notes in its results booklet.

During the year under focus, Safaricom's one-month active mobile data customers in Kenya increased by 11.2 percent to 34.13 million, implying that a significant share of the country's subscribers now use mobile internet services.

At the same time, Safaricom saw its subscribers using over one gigabyte per month rising by 22.4 percent to close at 14.52 million, implying that the telco's consumers are fast turning into heavy consumers of data.

The average data consumption per chargeable subscriber rose by 16.6 percent to 4.92 gigabytes per month, while the rate per megabyte fell 12.1 per cent to 5.44 cents, reflecting a trend where by lower unit prices continue to power higher volume and, greater revenue stream for the telco.

Smartphone usage on the rise

Data shows that the number of customers on Safaricom's network using smartphones surged by 21.2 percent during the year to 33.16 million, signal that customers are now using multiple devices as the number outstrips the country's adult population.

More critically, the migration to higher-capacity devices is accelerating with active devices rising by 31.8 percent to 30.78 million, with 4G smart gadgets alone growing by 30.6 percent to 29.15 million units. During the year, 5G devices ownership increased by 55.5 percent to 1.64 million.

The company ended the year with 1,879 5G base stations in Kenya, up 10.5 per cent from the prior year, covering approximately 30 per cent of the population according to the investor presentation.

On fixed broadband business, service revenue and earnings from IoT edged up by 12.2 per cent to KSh20.20 billion, on account of 35 percent surge in fibre-to-the-home customers to 407,080. 

At the same time fixed wireless access, which refers to customers using 4G and 5G networks to deliver home internet without physical fibre, contributed 52.3 percent of total connection growth, with FWA customers increasing 53 percent to 132,060. 

Homes in Kenya served by fibre infrastructure expanded 16.2 percent to 807,016, though the activity rate — active customers relative to homes connected — dipped slightly to 55.1 percent.

Group chief finance and innovation officer Dilip Pal told investors that the company’s targeted customer value management initiatives enabled more personalised bundles and sustained engagement. “We continue to enhance affordability through our targeted CVM initiatives,” Pal said.

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