Safaricom Reinforces Market Leadership in Regulator’s Network Quality Report

Safaricom has been ranked as the country’s top mobile network in quality, reliability and consistency, even as overall industry performance continues to decline.

In its latest Quality of Service (QoS) assessment for the 2024–2025 financial year, the Communications Authority of Kenya found Safaricom scored 89.72 percent, well above the minimum regulatory threshold of 80 percent. This placed it ahead of Airtel Kenya at 81.14 percent, while Telkom Kenya lagged significantly at 52.76 percent, falling below compliance levels.

The assessment, conducted under the Authority’s QoS framework established in 2017, evaluates operators using a combination of technical and customer-focused indicators, including end-to-end network tests, network performance data and user experience surveys.

Safaricom emerged as the strongest performer across key technical metrics, achieving a 90.36 percent score in end-to-end network quality the highest among the three operators. It was also the only provider to meet quality targets across all five regional clusters, indicating consistent nationwide service delivery.

Airtel Kenya maintained compliance but showed weaker performance in network quality tests and regional coverage, meeting targets in only two out of five regions. Telkom Kenya recorded the lowest scores across most indicators, including network performance and customer experience, highlighting ongoing operational challenges.

The report also points to broader pressures facing the telecommunications sector, with overall performance declining over the past four years. The regulator attributes this trend to rising data consumption, which is placing increasing strain on network infrastructure.

Despite these challenges, Safaricom maintained a perfect score in network performance and posted the highest customer satisfaction rating at 70 percent, suggesting resilience amid growing demand and shifting user expectations.

The findings underscore widening gaps in service quality between operators at a time when Kenya’s digital economy is expanding rapidly, increasing reliance on stable and high-speed connectivity for businesses and consumers.

With mobile networks forming the backbone of digital services—from mobile money to e-commerce and remote work—the report is likely to intensify pressure on lagging operators to invest in infrastructure upgrades and improve service delivery.

As demand for data continues to grow, analysts say sustained capital investment and efficient network management will be critical in determining which operators can keep pace with Kenya’s accelerating digital transformation.