Communications Authority of Kenya has put Kenya’s second- and third-largest telecom operators on notice after its latest Quality-of-Service (QoS) report exposed widening performance gaps in the industry.
The 2024–2025 assessment shows Airtel Kenya only narrowly met the minimum regulatory threshold with a score of 81.14 percent, while Telkom Kenya fell significantly short at 52.76 percent—raising concerns about its competitiveness and service reliability.
The report highlights deep disparities in key performance areas, including network quality, regional coverage, and customer experience.
Airtel managed to meet quality targets in just two out of five regions, while Telkom failed to achieve compliance in any region assessed, signaling uneven service delivery across the country.
Customer satisfaction levels also reflect the pressure facing the two operators, with Airtel scoring 68.4 percent and Telkom trailing at 60 percent, both behind industry leader Safaricom PLC.
Analysts say the findings point to a growing competitive imbalance in the sector, where smaller operators are struggling to match the scale of investment and infrastructure deployed by the market leader.
The situation is further compounded by rising data consumption, which continues to strain existing networks.
The regulator’s report now places urgent focus on Airtel and Telkom to strengthen their infrastructure, expand coverage, and improve customer experience if they are to remain viable competitors in Kenya’s fast-evolving digital landscape.