According to data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022/23, consumers’ hunger for fast internet speeds has increased due to quickly emerging technology.
Based on the statistics, the total number of mobile data subscribers increased by 1.6 million to 49.4 million, up from 47.8 million at the start of the year.
In a report, CA said, “4G technology recorded the highest number of subscriptions. This indicates that Kenyans are embracing newer and more advanced mobile technologies that offer faster internet speeds, especially with the increasing demand for video streaming and downloading.”
With 22.5 million customers, up from 20.5 million at the end of 2017, 4G is still the most popular network.
The second-placed 2G network’s subscriber count barely climbed to 16 million from 15.9 million in January, while 3G decreased to 10.3 million from 11.1 million.
Most mobile consumers can still not use 5G technology since it requires more expensive mobile devices and data plans. The majority of 5G-ready phones, which include mid- to high-end models from tech giants like Apple and Samsung, are overpriced.
Because companies invested billions of Kenyan Shillings in infrastructure upgrading, consumers also pay higher Internet costs on 5G than those offered on 3G and 4G.
Following testing starting in March 2021 in significant urban centres with substantial data traffic, Safaricom was the first in East Africa to commercially deploy the 5G service last October.
