Satellite dishes at a telecom earth station in Kenya. File photo. Photo: Arthur Buliva, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

KENYA · TELECOMS

Telkom Kenya, a Nairobi telecom operator selling mobile and home broadband, has told Parliament that a plan to force every internet provider to bill by usage could raise costs, expose customer data and slow broadband growth. Chief executive Mugo Kibati made the case to a committee of the National Assembly, Kenya’s lower house of parliament, on Tuesday 10 November 2026.

For US readers, the fight shows how Kenya may rewrite the rules for selling internet. Any internet service provider in Kenya would be affected if the bill becomes law.

What the Bill Would Require

The Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2025, a draft change to Kenya’s telecom law, was sponsored by Marianne Kitany, the member of parliament for Aldai, a constituency in Nandi County. Its clause 3 says an internet service provider must run a meter billing system that gives each customer a unique meter number, bills by consumption and lets users check their invoices.

Metering means charging for the amount of data used, much like a water meter. Providers would also have to send the Communications Authority of Kenya, the telecom regulator, details of their billing systems and the meter numbers at least once every financial year.

Parliament Buildings in Nairobi. File photo. photo, 2010. Photo: Jorge Láscar, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What Telkom Told Lawmakers

Kibati appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation, chaired by John Kiarie, who represents Dagoretti South, a Nairobi constituency. He said: “Telkom wants the very same things that the sponsor is looking for: fundamentally, Kenyans should be able to see, check and challenge what they are charged.”

He argued that a clear transparency standard does this better than a single metering model. “Sometimes you can go overboard in trying to protect consumers that you actually kill a nascent, growing sector,” he said.

The 96% and 4% Argument

Kibati told the committee that mobile internet makes up about 96% of Kenya’s data subscriptions and is already billed by usage. That means the new rules would mainly hit fixed broadband, the remaining 4%.

Telkom says fixed broadband is recording annual growth of more than 30% under today’s pricing, so it saw too little evidence of consumer harm to justify new rules. That is why Telkom urged Parliament to reconsider the metering clause.

Privacy and Costs

Telkom also warned that rules requiring a lasting identifier for each subscriber, plus yearly reporting to the regulator, could expose personal data without strong safeguards. It urged lawmakers to align the bill with Kenya’s Data Protection Act, the country’s privacy law.

The company proposed that providers disclose their billing models, charges and fair-usage policies (limits on heavy use) before customers sign up. It also asked for free access to usage data, itemised bills on request, dispute-resolution procedures and independent audits where billing accuracy is questioned.

Telkom asked that operators send the regulator combined subscriber data instead of customer-by-customer records. It also called for explicit protection of unlimited and speed-based packages, an implementation period of at least 18 months and impact assessments on regulation and data protection.

What It Means for You

If you visit Kenya, your mobile data would probably not change, because Telkom says mobile is already billed by use. Home and office broadband customers could see different packages if unlimited plans were limited.

Investors who follow African telecoms should watch the committee’s report, because compliance costs would fall mostly on fixed-line providers. Companies that sell internet services in Kenya from the US should check whether the meter-number rule would apply to them.

What Is Not Known

It is not known when the committee will report, or whether it will keep, change or drop clause 3. The committee has not said whether it will hold more hearings.

The figures on mobile and fixed shares are Telkom’s own, and we have not matched them to regulator statistics. It is also unclear how other providers will argue.

More: Kenya news in English, every day from The Rio Times. See also how Kenya charges telecoms for spectrum.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Internet Metering in Kenya?

It is a proposed rule that would make internet providers charge customers by the data they use. Each customer would get a unique meter number and be able to check invoices.

Why Does Telkom Kenya Oppose It?

Telkom says the rule could raise costs, expose personal data and hurt fixed broadband, which grows over 30% a year. It prefers a transparency standard over one billing model.

Would Mobile Data Prices Change?

Telkom says mobile data is about 96% of Kenya’s data subscriptions and is already billed by usage. It says the changes would mainly affect fixed broadband.

Has the Bill Become Law?

No. The bill is still before the National Assembly committee on communications, and the committee has not reported.

Sources: Parliament of Kenya, Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Telkom Kenya, submission to the National Assembly Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation (10 November 2026); Communications Authority of Kenya.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error