Telkom Kenya lost more than 160,000 active mobile subscribers between January and March 2026, highlighting the growing challenges facing smaller telecommunications operators in an increasingly competitive market. 
By Fredrick Kioko,
Telkom Kenya lost more than 160,000 active mobile subscribers between January and March 2026, highlighting the growing challenges facing smaller telecommunications operators in an increasingly competitive market.
According to the latest industry data, Telkom's active subscriber base fell from 744,902 to 584,438 during the three-month period, pushing the company further down to become Kenya's fifth-largest mobile operator.
The decline came even as Kenya's mobile sector recorded significant growth, with consumers adding a record 5.7 million active SIM cards during the quarter. The surge pushed the country's total active mobile subscriptions to 84 million, underlining the continued expansion of digital connectivity across the country.
Market leader Safaricom strengthened its dominance, accounting for approximately 58 million active subscriptions and maintaining a commanding share of Kenya's mobile market.
Meanwhile, the pay-TV industry is facing a similar disruption. DStv has lost another 22,000 subscribers in Kenya, deepening the subscriber decline experienced by its parent company, MultiChoice, across Africa.
Since 2023, MultiChoice has shed more than 2.8 million subscribers continent-wide, including over 589,000 customers in South Africa last year alone. The losses reflect changing consumer preferences as audiences increasingly migrate from traditional pay-TV services to on-demand streaming platforms.
Industry analysts attribute the shift to growing demand for greater content choice, convenience, and flexibility offered by streaming services, a trend that continues to place pressure on conventional television providers and reshape the media and telecommunications landscape across Africa.
