This archive report was first published on 2 July 2019.
July 2, 2019, marked a significant milestone for Safaricom as it continued to gain ground in the fixed internet market. According to the Communications Authority, Safaricom's market share increased to 31.8% in the three months leading up to March, surpassing Zuku's parent company Wananchi Group, which saw its dominance drop to 35.8%.
This growth is attributed to Safaricom's increased investments in linking homes to its fibre connections since February 2018. The company's fibre internet product has seen seven consecutive quarters of growth, with the number of subscribers increasing countrywide.
As of March 2019, Safaricom had 126,792 subscribers on its fixed data platform, while Wananchi Group had 143,957 subscriptions. Jamii Telecom came in third with a market share of 14% or 56,396 fixed internet subscribers.
The total number of fixed internet subscribers in Kenya increased by 8.24% to hit 402,103 at the end of March, highlighting the growing demand for internet services as more people opt to work from home and subscribe to on-demand services like Showmax and Netflix.
Since launching its home fibre optic internet services in February 2017, Safaricom has made significant strides in the market, surpassing more than 90,000 household connections by the end of 2017. The company's fibre network has expanded to over 6,700km, further solidifying its position in the market.
As Safaricom continues to invest in its infrastructure, the company remains optimistic about its growth prospects. In its 2018 annual report, Safaricom stated, "We believe that investing in our infrastructure will not only reinforce our competitive position, it also represents a compelling opportunity to accelerate our revenue growth."
