Safaricom has secured a landmark 25-year operating licence from Kenya’s Communications Authority (CA), giving the telecoms giant long-term regulatory certainty as it accelerates network investment and regional expansion.
The licence, granted under the regulator’s Unified Licensing Framework, replaces a temporary two-year permit that Safaricom had been operating under while regulators and telecoms operators negotiated spectrum allocation, licensing fees and penalties linked to service outages.
The long-term approval marks a significant shift in Kenya’s telecoms regulatory landscape, where the CA has historically issued licences lasting 10 years.
The new framework consolidates multiple authorisations, including spectrum usage rights, into a single licence instrument.
The development comes as Safaricom’s regulatory costs continue to climb sharply.
According to disclosures in the company’s FY2026 financial results, direct licence-related costs rose to approximately $126.7 million for the year ended March 2026, up from around $113.4 million the previous year.
Safaricom declined to disclose the amount paid for the new 25-year licence.
Board chairman Adil Khawaja described the approval as a major strategic milestone for the company.
“As we celebrate our first 25 years, we have secured a licence to operate for the next 25 years under a unified framework from the CA,” Khawaja said.
He added that the licence “provides long-term certainty and strengthens our ability to invest with confidence”.
Kenya’s Unified Licensing Framework forms part of broader regulatory reforms aimed at shifting the market away from administrative spectrum allocation towards an auction-based system — a move expected to reshape spectrum pricing and competition dynamics in the country’s telecoms sector.
Airtel Kenya, which received a similar interim two-year licence in late 2024, paid significantly lower temporary fees of about $3.8 million, reflecting its smaller spectrum footprint.
Its temporary licence remains valid until January 2027, although it remains unclear whether the operator will receive equivalent long-term licensing terms under the same framework.
Under the previous licensing model, Safaricom and Airtel Kenya collectively paid approximately $17.8 million for 10-year operating licences.
Safaricom’s interim two-year licence alone cost around $12.6 million, highlighting the sharp rise in the value of spectrum and operating rights in Kenya’s increasingly competitive telecoms market.
The long-term licence strengthens Safaricom’s position as Kenya’s dominant telecoms operator. The company serves more than 46 million subscribers and processes the majority of the country’s mobile money transactions through M-PESA.
The approval also comes as Safaricom continues expanding into Ethiopia, one of Africa’s largest telecoms growth markets.
At the same time, the licence lands against the backdrop of a major ownership restructuring involving Vodacom Group.
Under a deal announced in December, valued at approximately $2.1 billion, Vodacom will increase its shareholding in Safaricom from 40% to 55%, giving the South African telecoms group majority control of the company.
As part of the transaction, the Kenyan government plans to reduce its stake from 35% to 20% through the sale of roughly six billion shares.
In addition to the share sale proceeds, the government is expected to receive an upfront payment of approximately $311 million from Vodacom in lieu of future dividends linked to its remaining stake.
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