Safaricom Plc is preparing to upend Kenya’s fixed broadband market by rolling out tokenised fibre and prepaid Wi-Fi, a shift that will allow households to buy home internet in daily, weekly or monthly bundles much like mobile data.
The move, planned for the second half of Safaricom’s financial year ending March, marks a decisive break from rigid monthly contracts that have long defined fixed internet. The operator says the new pricing model is central to its ambition to triple the size of Kenya’s fixed broadband market over the next five years.
“We have just over 400,000 customers on fixed broadband today, in a market that is only serving about 1.2 million,” Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa said in December. “At a country level, the opportunity is closer to four million. That leaves roughly three million people still to be connected.”
Under the new model, customers will be able to purchase broadband in time-based bundles rather than committing to long-term plans, lowering the cost of entry for households outside high-income neighborhoods. Safaricom expects the segment to grow by as much as 50% a year without hitting saturation, supported by a mix of fibre, 5G fixed wireless and cheaper customer devices.
“In the same way we transformed mobile data with flexible pricing, we are now doing the same for fixed,” Ndegwa said. “By changing how we go to market and how we price, we can expand participation and still manage our cost to serve.”
The strategy is being driven by Faith Anampiu, who took up the role of head of fixed broadband on January 5. She is responsible for strategy, growth and profitability across Safaricom’s home and enterprise connectivity business, and for overseeing the new pricing models.
Anampiu joined from Bayobab Kenya, part of MTN Group, where she was managing director and led fibre network expansion and business restructuring. She has previously held senior roles at Airtel Africa, Orange Kenya and Bayer East Africa.
Her appointment also supports Safaricom’s broader push to bundle fixed connectivity with ICT, cloud and Internet of Things services for small and medium-sized businesses, a segment the company sees as underserved.
Fixed broadband and enterprise services sit at the center of Safaricom’s next growth phase, Ndegwa said, as the operator tightens integration across its consumer, business and public sector offerings.
“The goal is for customers to buy outcomes, not products,” he said.