Report Reveals Internet Speeds in Kenyan Towns, Fastest Provider

A businesswoman checking messages on a smart phone
A businesswoman checking messages on a smart phone
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A survey by global network testing and data analytics firm Ookla rated Mombasa as the town with the fastest internet speed in Kenya. 

Governor Ali Hassan Joho-led county emerged first on the list with a  speed of 32.12 Megabytes per second (Mbps).

According to the report, Mombasa was also ranked as the town with the fastest mobile upload speeds with 17.13Mbps.

File image of a man using a phone
A photo of a man using a smartphone
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Nairobi came in second with 21.79 Mbps followed by Kisumu, Nakuru, and Eldoret with speeds of 21.02 Mbps, 19.41Mbps, and 13.72 Mbps respectively.

“Eldoret has the fastest average fixed broadband download speed in Kenya at 23.68 Mbps and an upload speed of 21.30 Mbps," the report stated.

"Nairobi dropped three places from the fastest city for mean fixed broadband download speed during Quarter One,” it continued.

Mombasa followed with 23.27 Mbps downloads speed, Nairobi with 20.71 Mbps, Kisumu with 18.07 Mbps, and Nakuru with 13.27 Mbps.

In mobile upload speeds, Nairobi followed Mombasa with 13.27 Mbps, Nakuru with 12.65 Mbps, Eldoret with 10.11 Mbps, and Kisumu with 8.95 Mbps.

In terms of latency, Mombasa was ranked to have at 35 milliseconds while Nairobi and Nakuru tie at 37 milliseconds. Eldoret followed at 41 milliseconds while Kisumu had the highest delay among major towns at 49 milliseconds.

Latency means the delay before a transfer of data begins following an instruction for its transfer.

Safaricom was ranked as the fastest mobile internet provider followed by Airtel, Faiba, and Telkom. 

Kenyans’ fast-rising consumption of internet data saw Kenya Power launch its data operations in 2010 and laid more than 4,000km for fibre optic cable. 

The digitization of Kenya’s economy and work processes saw the demand for fibre connectivity shoot up. To maximise this data cash cow, Kenya Power has planned to add another 600km of fibre cable.

Nairobi, Coast, Mt Kenya, and North Eastern regions were to benefit from 277.5km of cable in the first phase. The second phase was to target the Central Rift, North Rift, Western, South Nyanza regions with 323km of cable.

With increased mobile and internet penetration, the ICT and communication sector presents an opportunity for the adoption of new trends in the market.

Kenya Power staff working on electricity lines at Soysambu Conservancy on February 22, 2021
Kenya Power staff working on electricity lines at Soysambu Conservancy on February 22, 2021
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