American satellite internet provider Starlink has dropped to ninth place in Kenya’s fixed internet market, according to the latest Communications Authority (CA) statistics for Q4 of the 2024/2025 financial year.
The company, owned by Elon Musk, registered 17,425 subscriptions by June 2025, translating to a 0.8% market share. While this reflected a slight rise from 17,066 users in March 2025, Starlink’s overall ranking fell as rival providers outpaced its growth.
Since its Kenyan debut in July 2023, Starlink gained attention for its high speeds and aggressive price cuts, including lowering hardware costs from Ksh.74,000 to Ksh.29,000, introducing a rental option, and launching the affordable Mini kit at Ksh.27,000. However, repeated freezes on new sign-ups due to network capacity overload slowed its momentum. The company only resumed new subscriptions in Nairobi and nearby counties in June 2025, after a freeze imposed in November 2024.
Meanwhile, Safaricom strengthened its lead, growing subscriptions from 678,118 in Q3 to 735,749 in Q4, holding a 34.3% share. Jamii Telecommunications followed with 20.6%, while Wananchi Group (12.7%) and Poa Internet (12.5%) remained close competitors.
Other notable players include Ahadi Wireless (7.5%), newcomer to the top 10, Vilcom Network (4.1%), and Mawingu Networks (3.6%). Smaller operators such as Dimension Data Solutions (0.9%) and Liquid Telecommunications (0.8%) maintained a limited presence.
Starlink’s journey highlights both the opportunities and hurdles in Kenya’s fast-evolving internet market, where established local players continue to consolidate dominance even as global entrants seek a foothold.
