Mobile Subscription, Penetration and Coverage Trends in Kenya’s Telecommunication Sector

Communication is the activity of conveying information through the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behavior. In Kenya the mobile subscription, penetration and coverage have been growing since the first mobile operators started operating in 1999. The current mobile operators in Kenya are given by Safaricom Ltd, Airtel Networks Kenya Ltd, Essar Telecom Kenya Ltd and Telkom Kenya Ltd (TKL-Orange). This paper discusses the present condition of the telecommunication sector in Kenya and the trends in subscription, penetration and coverage since 1999 when the first two mobile operators (Safaricom Ltd and Celtel now as Airtel Networks Kenya Ltd) started their operations and later the introduction of two other operators Essar Telecom Kenya Ltd and Telkom Kenya Ltd (Orange brand) in 2008. The paper also tries to find out what is likely to happen in a few years to come and provision of a set of recommendations based on the analysis. The study was based on extensive literature review and secondary data sources mainly from Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK). The data obtained was analyzed using Matlab and Microsoft excel to obtain the relevant graphical representations as given in results and discussions.