By the time a Kenyan streams a football match on a smartphone, joins a video meeting, uploads content to TikTok or pays through a mobile app, there is a good chance part of that experience is now running on a fifth-generation (5G) mobile network.
Fresh data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) shows subscriptions on the super-fast 5G network rose to 1.9 million as of March 2026, up from 1.7 million three months earlier.
The addition of 170,656 new users, a 9.8 percent increase, signals continued adoption of a technology that only entered Kenya’s commercial market less than four years ago.
Yet the bigger story lies in how heavily 5G users are consuming data once they join the network.
CA statistics show that quarterly mobile broadband consumption by 5G subscribers crossed the 100 million gigabyte (GB) mark for the first time, hitting 102.01 million GB during the three months ended March.
The consumption represents a jump from 80.5 million GB consumed by 5G users in the preceding quarter, highlighting the growing appetite for bandwidth-intensive services among subscribers connected to the network.
Across all mobile technologies, total broadband consumption rose to 800 million GB during the quarter, representing a six percent increase from 755 million GB recorded three months earlier.
The regulator said average mobile broadband usage per subscription increased from 14.6 GB to 15.1 GB during the review period, with 5G users consuming data at a significantly higher rate than the rest of the market.
Average 5G consumption
According to the CA, the average 5G subscriber consumed 53.5 GB during the quarter, more than three times the national average across all mobile broadband users.
“During the quarter, the average mobile broadband consumption per subscription increased from 14.6 GB to 15.1 GB with 5G users recording the highest usage at 53.5 GB,” wrote the Authority in its latest quarterly statistics release.
Unlike previous generations of mobile technology, 5G is designed to support ultra-fast internet speeds, lower latency and the simultaneous connection of large numbers of devices.
The technology enables a raft of capabilities including faster downloads, smoother video streaming, cloud computing applications, online gaming, as well as emerging services that require real-time connectivity.
Kenya’s 5G journey began with trials conducted by Safaricom in 2021 before the operator commercially launched the service in October 2022.
Airtel Kenya entered the market in mid-2023, setting off a fresh phase of competition as both operators raced to expand coverage and attract high-value data users.
Safaricom had deployed about 1,700 active 5G sites by last year, while Airtel had 690, with both operators continuing to expand their footprints across major urban centres and high-demand locations.
While 5G remains the fastest-growing network category, fourth-generation technology continues to dominate the market.
CA data shows 4G subscriptions increased by 1.8 million during the quarter under review to reach 45.9 million users as of March, up from 44.2 million in December.
The continued expansion of 4G demonstrates that it remains the workhorse of Kenya’s mobile internet ecosystem even as operators invest heavily in next-generation networks.
The number of subscribers connected to older technologies, 3G and 2G networks, however, continues to shrink, falling by 654,379 and 662,896 users, respectively, during the quarter.
The exodus reflects broader changes taking place across the telecommunications sector as consumers shift toward faster internet services and smartphone-based applications.
Significant barriers
Despite its rapid growth, 5G still faces significant barriers to mass adoption, among the biggest being the cost of compatible devices.
Many entry-level smartphones sold in Kenya still support only 4G connectivity, leaving 5G-capable handsets concentrated among middle-income and higher-income consumers.
Although prices have gradually declined, 5G-enabled smartphones remain significantly more expensive than standard 4G devices.
Because 5G users tend to stream more video, download larger files and spend more time online, their monthly data expenditure is also often higher than that of conventional mobile users.
The CA data further shows that the number of smartphones connected to mobile networks crossed the 50 million mark for the first time as consumers continued abandoning basic feature phones.
The growth in smartphone ownership provides a larger pool of potential users capable of migrating to faster networks.
