Airtel Kenya has paid $65 million, roughly KSh8.4 billion, to acquire 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3500 MHz band for a 25-year term.
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) approved the allocation, which gives Airtel additional capacity to expand its 5G network and compete with Safaricom in the growing mobile broadband market.
Managing director Djibril Tobe said the acquisition follows the company’s renewal of its operating licence for another 25 years, which was announced after a settlement with the regulator in 2022 and a temporary authorisation that ran to January 2027.
The 3.5 GHz band, part of the global C-band used for commercial 5G, balances capacity and coverage, making it suitable for urban areas with high data traffic.
Kenya’s 5G subscriber base rose to 2.1 million in June 2026, a 75 per cent increase from the previous year, while average monthly data use among 5G users reached 64.4 GB, far exceeding 15.8 GB for 4G and 8.3 GB for 3G.
The CA recorded 52.26 million smartphone connections and 54.93 million mobile broadband subscriptions in June 2026, indicating a large market for expanded services.
Safaricom, which launched commercial 5G in October 2022, held 64.4 per cent of the mobile broadband market and 69.8 per cent of overall mobile subscriptions in June 2026, while Airtel’s 5G sites numbered 690 compared with Safaricom’s 803 in March 2024.
Airtel’s spectrum purchase is part of a broader strategy that includes the launch of Airtel Xstream Fibre packages in April 2026, with prices from KSh1,999 for 15 Mbps to KSh4,999 for 100 Mbps, and the development of fixed wireless access using 5G.
The investment adds to Airtel Africa’s regional rollout, which recently added over 3,250 network sites, 3,200 km of fibre, and plans to complete the Nxtra data centre in Kenya by July 2027.
