Telkom Kenya, once a trailblazer in the country’s telecommunications industry, is now facing a steep decline in market relevance as it struggles to keep pace with dominant rivals Safaricom and Airtel. Despite being part of the trio of mobile service providers in Kenya, Telkom’s dwindling market share has raised concerns about its long-term viability in an increasingly competitive and capital-intensive sector.
Latest data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) reveals a grim picture. While Safaricom continues to dominate with over 18 billion outgoing voice minutes and Airtel follows with 10 billion, Telkom’s share barely crosses 100 million outgoing minutes. The story is similar in SMS traffic, where Telkom’s volume is under 10 million compared to Safaricom’s 12.7 billion. These numbers reflect Telkom’s shrinking user base and limited impact on the market.
In the fast-growing mobile money space, Telkom’s T-Kash service remains nearly invisible. While Safaricom’s M-Pesa and Airtel Money continue to grow with aggressive adoption, T-Kash has failed to gain significant traction. Telkom’s inability to compete in mobile financial services has cost it access to a key revenue stream and left it out of the financial inclusion ecosystem that has become critical to telecom sector growth.
The surge in demand for 4G and 5G services has further exposed Telkom’s challenges. Despite owning stakes in major undersea cable systems like EASSy and LION 2, Telkom has struggled to transform this international bandwidth into reliable last-mile connectivity. Its network infrastructure rollout has lagged far behind competitors, making it difficult to provide the high-quality service required by today’s digital consumers.
A major obstacle to Telkom’s revival has been its prolonged struggle to attract a strategic investor. Since the government’s controversial 2022 buyout of Helios Investment Partners through Jamhuri/Helios, followed by a switch to a UAE-based firm, delays and uncertainty have stalled progress. The lack of investment has prevented the company from modernising its network, expanding services, or even improving internal operations.
The challenges go beyond infrastructure and reach into the heart of Telkom’s organisation. According to Communication Workers Union of Kenya (COWU-K), employee morale is at an all-time low. The union’s Secretary General, Benson Okwaro, stated that staff have been stuck in the same positions for over a decade, feeling like “spectators in their own careers.” This stagnation has contributed to a brain drain as experienced workers leave for more stable and ambitious competitors.
These internal challenges may also be affecting the accuracy of Telkom’s reported data. The Communications Authority’s latest sector report relies on provisional figures from Telkom, raising questions about the company’s internal reporting systems. This suggests that the situation may be even worse than currently reported, further complicating potential investor interest.
Even Telkom’s competitive pricing—KSh 3.54 per minute for voice calls and KSh 1.15 per SMS, both slightly below market averages—has not been enough to attract or retain subscribers. Analysts argue that price cuts alone are insufficient in a market where service quality, innovation, and value-added services increasingly drive consumer choice.
To reverse its fortunes, Telkom Kenya must address several urgent priorities. First is the need for bold infrastructure investments to improve service quality and expand its 4G and 5G networks. Second, the company must urgently pursue strategic partnerships that can inject capital and technical expertise. Third, talent retention and employee development must be prioritised to rebuild internal capabilities.
Experts say Telkom must also rethink its approach to customer acquisition. This includes investing in marketing, expanding its mobile money platform T-Kash with new features and partnerships, and improving digital service delivery to match user expectations. Without such measures, Telkom risks becoming further irrelevant in a market where Safaricom and Airtel continue to aggressively grow their footprints across voice, data, and fintech services.
As of July 2025, the outlook for Telkom Kenya remains uncertain. Its survival may ultimately depend on how quickly it can secure new investment, streamline operations, and deliver the kind of bold reforms necessary to break out of what many are calling a corporate “death spiral.”
