Airtel Kenya Spends US$65 Million to Acquire 100 MHz of 5G Spectrum

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 30, Airtel Africa confirmed in its half-year operating report that its Kenyan telecom operator Airtel Kenya has spent US$65 million to acquire spectrum usage rights for 100 MHz of bandwidth within the 3500 MHz band for a term of 25 years. The spectrum transaction has been approved by the Communications Authority of Kenya and is subject to the relevant licensing conditions. The additional spectrum will be used to support the expansion of Kenya's 5G mobile communications network and the development of broadband services.

The 3500 MHz band acquired this time is an important mid-band for 5G mobile communications and can be used to improve the data-carrying capacity of radio access networks. Airtel Kenya will incorporate the newly added 100 MHz of spectrum resources into its existing mobile communications network development plans, with subsequent network construction involving base station radio equipment, antenna systems, transmission networks and related supporting facilities.

Airtel Kenya previously paid US$40 million in July 2022 to acquire spectrum usage rights for 60 MHz of bandwidth within the 2600 MHz band, with a license term of 15 years. Compared with the previous transaction, the newly added spectrum bandwidth has increased by 40 MHz and the license term has been extended by 10 years.

According to statistics from the Communications Authority of Kenya, as of June 2026, the number of 5G users in Kenya reached approximately 2.1 million, an increase of 75% compared with 1.2 million in the same period of 2025. During the same period, Safaricom accounted for approximately 64.4% of Kenya's mobile broadband user market share, while Airtel accounted for approximately 31.9%.

Airtel Africa's half-year report for the period ended September 30, 2026 shows that the group operates in 14 African countries, with total customers reaching 193.9 million at period-end, up 11.6% year on year; data customers reached 89.9 million, up 15% year on year. During the same period, the group's data revenue was US$1.571 billion, up 28% at constant currency.

In terms of capital expenditure, Airtel Africa invested US$657 million in the first half of the fiscal year, higher than US$318 million in the same period of the previous year. The capital expenditure figure covers the group's African operations and excludes spectrum and license purchase expenditures. The specific base station deployment progress and commercial launch timing for the newly added spectrum in Kenya will be subject to the local operator's subsequent network construction arrangements.