Kenya Africa

Phone Line and Internet in Kenya for Foreigners 2026

By Samuel Ncube · October 16, 2026 · 7 min read

Tall office towers and lower buildings in central Nairobi behind green treetops under a blue sky with clouds — Office towers in central Nairobi, Kenya's business capital, pictured in April 2008. The archive photo does not show the company. Photo: Lmwangi / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Expats · Kenya

A foreigner can register a Kenyan SIM card with a passport, and Safaricom’s KSh 1,000 monthly bundle now costs less than US$8. The harder choices are the registration rules, the eSIM process and a home-fibre market whose prices keep changing.

Key Facts

—Who. Foreigners, remote workers and long-stay visitors who need a working phone line and home internet in Kenya.

—What. How SIM registration works for non-citizens, what a Safaricom eSIM costs, and what mobile data and home fibre cost in 2026.

—Why it matters. Safaricom’s KSh 1,000 monthly bundle (about US$7.71 at KSh 129.71 per US$) now carries 21.5GB, up from 10.2GB, and Airtel has entered the fibre market from KSh 1,999 (about US$15.41).

—The number to know. Kenya had 88 million active mobile subscriptions at the end of June 2026, a penetration rate of 165%.

Painted matatu minibus at a busy road junction in Nairobi, Kenya — File photo: a painted matatu minibus crosses a busy road junction in Nairobi. (Photo: Lebu Ayiga / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

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The Short Answer: Bring Your Passport

You can register a Kenyan SIM card as a foreigner with a valid passport or a Foreign National Registration Certificate. The registration must be done by the operator or one of its authorised agents, and nobody else can register a line on your behalf.

Mobile data is cheap by US standards, and home fibre coverage is still expanding. This guide sets out the rules, the prices we could confirm and the gaps we could not close.

For the wider picture, see our Kenya hub. It also helps to know the visa side first, which we cover in our guide to Kenya visas and residency.

Registering a SIM Card as a Foreigner

The rules sit in the Kenya Information and Communications (Registration of Telecommunications Service Subscribers) Regulations, 2025, published as Legal Notice No. 90 and in force from 30 May 2025. They replaced the 2015 SIM-card rules.

Only licensed operators and their approved agents may register subscribers, and proxy registration is banned except for children. Registering through an authorised outlet puts the line in your own name.

For a foreigner the accepted documents include a valid passport or a Foreign National Registration Certificate, a registration certificate issued to foreign nationals under the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act. Take the original, not a photocopy.

In late 2025 a public debate arose over biometric data. The Communications Authority said the regulations contain no provision requiring biometric data collection, according to Capital FM.

eSIM: Convenient, but Not Fully Digital

Safaricom sells an eSIM profile for KSh 250 on a new line (about US$1.93) and KSh 150 for existing prepaid customers (about US$1.16). It is free for postpaid customers, according to Hapa Kenya’s April 2026 guide.

Customers in Kenya must visit a Safaricom retail centre with an original national ID or passport to get the QR code. Remote activation by email is reserved for customers roaming abroad.

Check that your phone supports an eSIM by dialling *#06# and looking for an EID number. Ask the store what happens if you change phones, before you pay for the profile.

Mobile Data: What You Pay and Who Has the Network

Safaricom raised the allocation on its KSh 1,000 monthly bundle (about US$7.71) from 10.2GB to 21.5GB without changing the price. The 30-day bundle was announced on 1 August 2026 under the company’s “Pata More” campaign, and the report we found does not give an end date.

Safaricom accounted for 69.8% of the market in the Communications Authority’s report for the quarter to June 2026, as reported by Techweez. Mobile data subscriptions reached 64.3 million, with 4G the main broadband technology, and smartphones numbered 52.3 million.

Prepaid lines dominate the market, at 97% of the total. That means most people, including foreigners, top up with bundles rather than sign contracts.

A registered line also opens the door to mobile money, which reached 54 million subscriptions by June 2026. The agent network where people deposit and withdraw cash fell 5.6% in the quarter, from 602,470 in March to 568,463 in June.

Mobile money works through the same registered SIM, so a line registered in your own name is the first step to paying rent, utilities and shops digitally. Whether a short-stay visitor can open a full mobile-money account on a passport alone is not set out in the sources we could read.

Home Fibre: A Market in Motion

Fixed internet subscriptions reached 2.84 million at the end of June 2026, up 32.4% in a year, of which 1.57 million were fibre. Competition is the reason prices keep moving.

Airtel Kenya entered fixed broadband on 30 April 2026, with a phased rollout in select residential areas. Zuku offered promotional prices in August 2026, and Safaricom changed its home-fibre speeds in April.

Provider	Speed	Monthly price (KSh)	About (US$)
Airtel Kenya	15 Mbps	1,999	15.41
Airtel Kenya	30 Mbps	2,999	23.12
Airtel Kenya	60 Mbps	3,999	30.83
Airtel Kenya	100 Mbps	4,999	38.54
Zuku (promotional)	30 Mbps	2,099	16.18
Zuku (promotional)	80 Mbps	2,799	21.58
Zuku (promotional)	100 Mbps	3,099	23.89
Zuku (promotional)	200 Mbps	6,999	53.96

We do not print Safaricom’s home-fibre prices. Published price lists for its entry tiers disagree on speeds and on whether promotional discounts still apply, so check its current list before you sign.

Background on the sector is in our reports on Airtel’s wholesale fibre closure and on Kenya’s SIM recycling rules. Both show how fast the market is changing.

How to Get Connected in Three Steps

First, carry your original passport or Foreign National Registration Certificate and go to an official operator shop or an authorised agent. Second, let the operator check your documents and complete the registration itself.

Third, decide between a physical SIM and an eSIM, and buy a monthly bundle once the line is active. Keep the confirmation message from the operator, since proxy registration is banned and you will want proof the line is in your name.

The Downsides

Prices are promotional and short-lived, and the offers we found do not state end dates. A plan that looks cheap today can be repriced within weeks.

The registration rules are strict, so a SIM that was not registered by the operator or an authorised agent falls outside them. Home fibre depends on whether your building has a connection, and we found no official coverage map for the new Airtel service.

What It Means for You

Land with your passport in your hand-luggage and register at an official outlet in the first days. If you will stay for months, an eSIM saves a physical SIM but needs the store visit.

For an apartment, ask the building which providers already have fibre, because that matters more than the headline price. Our Nairobi cost-of-living guide shows where the rest of the monthly budget goes.

What Is Not Known

We could not retrieve the regulations’ full text or the operators’ own price pages, which blocked our requests, so the registration details come from law-firm and press summaries. Prices here come from specialist technology press and the Communications Authority’s published statistics, and the exact rules for short-stay visitors are not set out in the sources we could read.

We also found no independent speed or coverage test for the new fibre entrants. Treat the prices as a snapshot from August to October 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a foreigner register a SIM card in Kenya?

Yes. A foreigner can register with a valid passport or a Foreign National Registration Certificate at a licensed operator or an authorised agent.

Can someone else register a SIM for me in Kenya?

No. Proxy registration is prohibited under the 2025 regulations, except for children.

How much is a Safaricom eSIM in Kenya?

KSh 250 for a new line (about US$1.93) and KSh 150 for existing prepaid customers (about US$1.16), and free for postpaid customers. A retail visit with an original ID or passport is required.

How much is a month of mobile data in Kenya?

Safaricom’s KSh 1,000 monthly bundle (about US$7.71) carries 21.5GB for 30 days under its August 2026 “Pata More” offer. The report we found gives no end date for the offer.

How much does home fibre cost in Kenya?

Airtel Kenya lists plans from KSh 1,999 for 15 Mbps (about US$15.41) to KSh 4,999 for 100 Mbps (about US$38.54). Zuku’s promotional plans run from KSh 2,099 for 30 Mbps (about US$16.18) to KSh 6,999 for 200 Mbps (about US$53.96).

Which network is biggest in Kenya?

Safaricom held 69.8% of the market in the Communications Authority’s report for the quarter to June 2026, as reported by Techweez. Airtel and Telkom Kenya split the remainder.

Sources

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief

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