Kenya’s internet service providers are battling out for potential consumers and a report released recently with regards to their speeds might just sway the tide in favor of those able to sustain decent download and upload speeds. According to a recently unveiled report, Telkom, Jamii Telecommunications Limited (JTL)-owned Faiba and Wananchi Group’s Zuku have taken the top spot for having the best overall download and upload speeds in various situations. Notably, they have outpaced the defactor industry leader Safaricom who didn’t manage to cope up with the competition.
nPerf, a renowned French network-testing firm unveiled it’s report on performance of various service providers in the country with Telkom showcasing a remarkable performance with an average download speed of 33.04 megabits per second (Mb/s) and an upload speed of 29.97 Mb/s over the 12 months leading to March 2024. Faiba which is onwed by Jamii Telecomms followed closely managing download speeds of 27.73 Mb/s and upload speeds of 21.63 Mb/s. On the other hand, Zuku secured a set at the to of the table with download speeds averaging 22.75 Mb/s and upload speeds at 17.04 Mb/s. However, Safaricom which is currently dominating the market fell short with average download and upload speeds of 19.76 Mb/s and 15.81 Mb/s, respectively.
In terms of latency, which determines the responsiveness of a network, Zuku excelled with the shortest delay at 39.46 milliseconds (ms), followed closely by Mawingu at 40.93 ms. Telkom and Safaricom lagged behind with latency times of 68.39 ms and 51.48 ms, respectively.
While Safaricom dominated YouTube streaming speeds at 74.53 percent, Faiba emerged as the leader in web browsing speed at 37.74 percent, closely followed by Safaricom and Zuku at 36.93 percent and 36.76 percent, respectively.
Despite Safaricom’s stronghold in the fixed data market with a 36.7 percent share, the report underscores the notable strides made by competitors such as JTL, which holds a 23.7 percent market share, reflecting a shifting landscape in consumer preferences and provider performance.
The study, renowned for its robust methodology, employs stringent filtering techniques to accurately reflect real customer experiences, ensuring the integrity and reliability of the findings.
As the competition intensifies in Kenya’s internet landscape, consumers stand to benefit from the continuous innovation and advancement driving the pursuit of superior internet connectivity and service delivery.