Airtel gets 2027 deadline extension for rural network expansion in Kenya
CA said the infrastructure requirement was introduced to make sure telecom companies expand their networks to rural and low-income areas that had been ignored in favour of more profitable urban zones.
Many Airtel customers in remote areas of Kenya will have to wait longer for improved mobile service after the regulator extended the company’s deadline to roll out network masts.
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has now given Airtel until January 2027 to meet a key requirement of its operating license, which demanded full coverage in 102 sub-locations across the country.
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Originally, Airtel was supposed to complete the network rollout by the end of 2024.
However, by the close of last year, only 40 sub-locations had full coverage, while 29 had partial coverage.
In six locations, Airtel was unable to proceed due to security concerns, leaving 25 sub-locations with no coverage at all. This failure meant the telco was in breach of a core condition tied to its license renewal.
In a recent compliance update, CA confirmed the new deadline.
“Since the authority has extended their license to expire in Jan 2027, they have committed to complete the pending sub-locations within the extended time,” the regulator stated.
Out-of-court agreement
This comes after Airtel entered into an out-of-court agreement to settle unpaid licensing fees amounting to Sh2.3 billion.
The extension allows the firm to continue operating while it works on meeting the required network standards.
The CA said the infrastructure requirement was introduced to make sure telecom companies expand their networks to rural and low-income areas that had been ignored in favour of more profitable urban zones.
“Over time, it was established that the licensees had mainly concentrated their service delivery in highly populated areas and highways where it was easy and fast to redeem high returns,” the regulator said.
Airtel was last year flagged for poor service delivery when it scored 75 per cent in a quality of service assessment, falling below the 80 per cent threshold.
Telkom Kenya, which had similar requirements in its license until 2017, has already met its obligations.
Safaricom went further, covering all 550 sub-locations assigned to it and building 13 additional booster sites.
Airtel is now the only operator yet to fully meet this licensing condition.
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