The number of active SIM cards decreased by 124,689, to 64.9 million, from 65.1 million subscribers in the prior quarter, according to the most recent industry report covering the three months to March.
The research says that a number of SIM cards have been deactivated during the present SIM registration effort, which is partially to blame for the fall in SIM subscriptions.
According to the Authority, this action aims to reduce the misuse of SIM cards for illegal activities.
According to the statement, “this has seen subscribers flag off SIM cards that were improperly registered in their names and were effectively cancelled by the operators.”
In accordance with the 2015 SIM Card Registration Regulations, the Authority requires mobile operators to make sure they have current registration information for their subscribers.
The goal of the effort was to verify complete compliance with the SIM Card Registration Regulations, which, among other things, mandate that operators keep a copy of each subscriber’s identification documents on file.
The 15th of October 2022 is the last day for subscribers to change their registration information.
Due to the country’s population estimates being revised from 48.7 million to 49.4 million according to the Economic Survey 2022, mobile penetration has decreased by 2.5 percentage points to 131.4% at the same time.
According to the research, as of March 31, 2022, there were 60.1 million mobile phone connections, of which 26.5 million were smart phones and 33.6 million were feature phones.
As a result of this, their penetration rates—calculated as a proportion of the overall population—now stand at 54.6% and 69.2%, respectively.
Due to service providers’ increased diversification of value ratios, the number of mobile money subscriptions increased from 35.2 million in the previous quarter to 36.4 million this quarter.
The underserved and most vulnerable populations, especially women, are now more deeply included in the financial system thanks in large part to mobile money.
During that time, Sh1.2 trillion was put into mobile wallets, while Sh1.3 trillion was utilized to pay for goods and services.
Sh13 million was exchanged at the same time to pay for government services.
In the same period, there were 46.5 million data/Internet subscriptions, up from 46.3 million in the previous quarter, and 30.2 million total broadband subscriptions.
There were 12.7 million and 16.7 million 3G and 4G mobile broadband subscriptions, respectively.
There are currently 228 FM radio stations and 151 free-to-air TV stations operating in the broadcasting industry.
There are 97,439 dot.ke domain names registered, with the.co.ke subdomain holding 89.6% of the market.
Threats were discovered in the cybersphere, where they fell from 66.7 million in the previous quarter to 37 million, a 38.6% decrease. 54, 643 advisories in all were published during this time.
The research demonstrates that network infrastructure is being expanded and upgraded to a greater extent in order to satisfy the rising demand for mobile and data services.
Projects are being implemented to increase rural towers, roll out 4G, 5G, and fiber infrastructure, and as election season approaches.
The research says, “Given that ICTs will be a major facilitator of the General Elections, the industry is projected to experience heightened activity as we approach the electioneering season.