Telkom’s Subscriber Base Declines By 800,000

Telkom Kenya, the nation’s third-largest mobile service provider, has experienced a drop in its subscriber base, losing an estimated 800,000 subscribers in just three months.

This decline comes amid an ongoing dispute with the American Towers Corporation (ATC) regarding unpaid leasing fees. According to the latest data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), Telkom had 1.34 million subscribers as of December 2023, reflecting a 36 percent decrease from the 2.11 million customers it had in September. Equitel, the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) backed by Equity Bank, has now surpassed Telkom Kenya in terms of subscriber numbers, boasting 1.5 million customers.

The issues trace back to February 2023 when ATC shut down 246 Telkom towers due to unpaid leasing fees. Telkom Kenya reportedly owes ATC a substantial $51.7 million(KES 7.1 billion), hindering tower reactivation negotiations.

ATC demanded an initial payment of $3.6 million (KES 500 million) and subsequent monthly fees of $1.09 million (KES 150 million) for tower reactivation, as reported by Business Daily. However, Telkom Kenya cited persistent financial challenges as a major obstacle in meeting these debt obligations.

Prior to 2018, Telkom Kenya maintained its own network infrastructure. However, in that year, ATC acquired 723 towers, aiming to improve network quality. As of June 2023, ATC Kenya operated 3,643 towers across the country, which also include nine distributed antenna system sites.