Communications Authority of Kenya’s revenue for the next five years is expected to hit KSh 117.367 billion, part of the money expected to be used in promoting digital inclusivity.
- Traditionally, Communications Authority has relied on frequency spectrum fees, annual operating licence fees, Universal Service Fund levy, rental, penalties and fines as its key sources of income.
- However, in the 2023-27 strategic plan, the Authority sees new revenue resources arising from undisclosed resource mobilization strategies.
- In the next five years, the authority estimates to use KSh 88,599 billion for ICT infrastructure and services, consumer protection, competitive market, consumer empowerment, emerging technologies, institutional excellence and environment sustainability activities.
ICT Infrastructure, which includes broadband development, public broadcasting studios, digital postal hubs, cyber security capability development among others, will take the largest share. It is estimated to consume KSh 28,601.24 billion of the of KSh 88,599 billion five-year budget, followed closely by institutional excellence and administrative cost at KSh 27,843 billion and KSh 23,135 billion, respectively.
The projected resource requirements for environment sustainability and competitive market are KSh 313.59 million and KSh 565.34 million over the next five years.
“We recognize the challenges that lie ahead in the highly dynamic and evolving ICT landscape. Through this strategic plan, we commit to increase the coverage and penetration of ICT services, bridge the digital divide and ensure that everyone in Kenya, regardless of their location, has access to affordable and reliable ICT services,” said Mary Mungai, Chairperson, Communications Authority of Kenya.
The Communications Authority 2023-27 strategic plan precedes the 2018-2022 plan whose implantation faced a number of challenges key among them vandalism and damage to ICT infrastructure in some regions of the country, geo-politics on technological neutrality, cyber threat, the COVID-19 pandemic, among others.
Nevertheless, during the 2018-2022 period, the authority says it facilitated mobile network operators to broaden their networks through deployment of additional 2G, 3G and 4G transceivers, which stood at 137,316 (2G), 112,584 (3G) and 93,928 (4G). The highest growth was recorded in the 4G category, which rose from 7,469 in June 2018 to 93,928.
The fifth Generation (5G) broadband cellular network technology was rolled out and registered 449,794 subscribers as of June 2023. The mobile phone subscriptions increased from 45.5 million (97.8 per cent penetration) in June 2018 to 66.4 million (131.3 per cent penetration) in June 2023.
Internet subscriptions grew from 41.1 million in June 2018 to 49.36 million in June 2023, while broadband subscriptions grew from 20.5 million in June 2018 to 33.32 million in June 2023.
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