Kenya’s utilized international Internet bandwidth reached 16,242.476 Gbps in December 2024, a 102% increase compared to 8,042.08 Gbps in December 2023 (see also Kenya: Kenya’s International Bandwidth Increases By 84% To Reach 8 Tbps During 2023). This total of 16,242.476 Gbps in December 2024 was split between 12,526.040 Gbps supplied by submarine cable (77%) according to latest statistics released by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), and approximately 3,716.436 Gbps supplied by satellite (23%). In its latest quarterly report, CA says that in addition to 12,526.040 Gbps of international bandwidth supplied by submarine cable that was used in Kenya, 2.953.82 Gbps was also sold to other countries.
Since Starlink low earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband entered service in Kenya in July 2023, the number of subscribers increased from 4,808 by March, to 6,063 by June, 16,786 by September and 19,146 by December 2024. Out of a total customer base of 19,403 satellite broadband subscribers by December 2024, 19,162 of these subscription packages were providing bandwidth in the range from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps. As a result, the international bandwidth supplied by satellite increased dramatically from 448 Mbps in December 2023 to an average peak capacity of 48.438 Gbps by March 2024, 840.448 Gbps by June, and 2,124.438 Gbps by September 2024. CA also reports total capacity utilized within the quarter, of 19,516,150.438 Gbps during the third quarter, and 34,141,040.438 Gbps during the fourth quarter. With a growth of 74.9% seen between the third and fourth quarters, this implies an average peak capacity of approximately 3,716.436 Gbps by December 2024.
“The utilized satellite capacity increased remarkably following the launch of Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency satellite Internet in the country,” said the Communications Authority in its sector statistics report for the quarter ended March 2024. “Utilized satellite internet capacity grew significantly by 152.8 percent to reach 2,124.438 Gbps (by September 2024),” said CA in the quarter ended September 2024, adding “this growth corresponds to the growth in satellite subscriptions following some customer acquisition initiatives by Starlink Internet Services Kenya.” And in the sector statistics report for year end 2024, the Communications Authority said that “utilized satellite capacity increased by 74.9 per cent during the (fourth) quarter and was mainly driven by the growing uptake of LEO satellite internet services in the country”.
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