Telkom Kenya and Airtel are failing to provide quality services to Kenyan subscribers, according to a new survey by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA). The report underscores inadequacies in coverage and internet accessibility for the two telcos.
According to the CA’s Financial Year 2022/23 assessment, Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya scored 79% and 65%, respectively, in overall performance.
This falls below the acceptable threshold of 80% set by the regulator. In comparison, market leader Safaricom achieved an overall score of 90%.
Aging Infrastructure Primary Cause for Poor Services
The CA report highlights aging base transceiver stations (BTS) and limited deployment of BTS as the leading causes of substandard services by Airtel and Telkom.
“Airtel Kenya Networks and Telkom Kenya failed to meet not only their coverage targets but also a number of the most critical QoS KPIs, particularly the “Unsuccessful Call Ratio” and Data Internet KPIs, which is an indicator for coverage and Internet availability and accessibility, respectively,” reads part of the report.
While the telcos offer reasonable quality of service in urban areas, their rural and remote area coverage remains bleak.
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“Telkom Kenya network appear to limit their optimization in such a way that network coverage rapidly diminishes after about 5 km from the town centers and serving cells,” notes the regulator.
Key Performance Failures
As per the CA’s end-to-end quality of service evaluation, Airtel and Telkom failed to meet targets on vital performance indicators.
These include the unsuccessful call ratio and internet data KPIs which signal shortcomings in coverage and internet accessibility, respectively.
The two operators fell short across critical quality benchmarks outlined by the regulator. The failures assume significance given that these firms have had longstanding operations in Kenya spanning over two decades.
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As the report states, “It was further noted that the mobile network operators are not optimally even in areas where they rolled out services long ago.”
While Safaricom achieved over 90% scores in 8 counties, its performance dipped to 63.5% in Vihiga and Kajiado. For Airtel, while Machakos, Mombasa, and Nairobi saw 90%+ scores, rural counties like Baringo and Laikipia witnessed a dismal show at 45%.
Telkom Kenya fared the poorest both in terms of data services and basic coverage. Several rural counties recorded a near-absent Telkom presence.
Infrastructure Upgrades Wanting
Summing up the survey findings, the regulator indicated that upgrading aging equipment and networks to serve changing consumer profiles and technology remains a challenge.
Telco firms need to bolster infrastructure to boost penetration in underserved areas, particularly the rural hinterlands.
By spotlighting gaps in quality, the report calls for remedial focus by Airtel and Telkom to erase service discrepancies against the sector leader, Safaricom. Investing in infrastructure upgrades and network optimization will be vital to improving quality benchmarks for millions of subscribers.
