Kenya’s mobile market is steadily moving away from 2G and 3G as 4G and 5G adoption continues to expand, bringing a potential future retirement of legacy networks closer.
A new GSMA and Partnership for Digital Access in Africa roadmap identifies Kenya among 11 African markets targeted for faster migration from legacy networks as part of a wider ambition to connect one billion people to the internet by 2030. The roadmap does not constitute a Kenyan regulatory order to switch off 2G or 3G networks. However, data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) shows that the market is already shifting towards newer technologies.
By June 2026, 2G subscriptions had declined 27.3 percent year on year to approximately 9.3 million, while 3G subscriptions fell 39.2 percent to about 4.5 million. In contrast, 4G subscriptions rose to around 48.3 million and 5G connections reached roughly 2.1 million.
The country recorded 64.26 million mobile data subscriptions by June 2026, with mobile broadband accounting for 85.5 percent. 4G remains the dominant broadband technology, while data consumption on 3G continues to decline.
The migration is also being driven by changes in devices. Kenya had 52.26 million smartphones connected to mobile networks by June 2026, compared with 27.42 million feature phones. Smartphones represented approximately 65.6 percent of the connected mobile-phone base.
While 5G remains smaller than 4G, users on the newer network are consuming significantly more data. Average monthly consumption among 5G users reached 64.4GB during the quarter to June, compared with 15.8GB on 4G and 8.3GB on 3G.
However, millions of legacy connections remain. The 9.3 million 2G and 4.5 million 3G subscriptions include users, businesses and connected equipment with different migration requirements. Kenya also recorded 2.22 million machine-to-machine subscriptions in June, highlighting the role of mobile networks in IoT and other connected applications.
The transition therefore extends beyond network infrastructure. Affordability of compatible smartphones, digital skills, reliable electricity and access to useful digital services will influence how quickly users can move to newer networks.
The broader connectivity market is also expanding. Fixed internet subscriptions reached 2.84 million by June 2026, while fibre connections rose to 1.57 million. International internet bandwidth utilisation reached 19.43Tbps during the quarter to June.
The GSMA roadmap provides a broader 2030 connectivity ambition, but any national retirement of 2G or 3G networks in Kenya would still require regulatory and operational decisions around network readiness, consumer migration, spectrum use and specialised connected devices.
Kenya’s latest market data shows that the shift beyond legacy networks is already underway. The next stage will involve managing the remaining migration while expanding the broadband infrastructure supporting the country’s digital economy.
