Kenya is on course to retire its older 2G and 3G mobile networks by 2030, following a steady fall in their use and a rapid rise in subscriptions to 4G and 5G services.
The country is among 11 African states covered by a new digital connectivity plan that seeks to speed up the transition to newer mobile technologies while helping more people access the internet.
The other countries are Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa.
The plan is contained in the Advancing Digital Connectivity in Africa roadmap unveiled by the GSM Association (GSMA) in partnership with the Partnership for Digital Access in Africa (PDAA) on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
The roadmap is aimed at helping Africa connect one billion additional people to the internet by 2030 by addressing challenges that continue to keep millions of people offline.
Kenya’s mobile market is already showing a clear move away from older network technologies.
Figures from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) indicate that 2G subscriptions declined by 27.3 per cent in the year to June 2026, falling from 12.8 million to 9.3 million.
3G connections recorded a bigger drop during the same period, decreasing by 39.2 per cent from 7.4 million to 4.5 million.
In contrast, 4G subscriptions climbed from 37.2 million in 2025 to 48.3 million by June 2026.
The number of 5G subscriptions also increased, rising from 1.2 million to 2.1 million over the same period.
The figures show a continued shift by consumers and businesses towards higher-speed mobile broadband, giving operators room to gradually move away from older networks and put more investment into newer technologies.
“Africa has already built much of the network foundation for its digital future. The urgent task now is to close the usage gap by making smartphones and services affordable, equipping people with practical skills, building trust and ensuring connectivity delivers visible value in people’s daily lives,” said John Giusti, GSMA Chief Regulatory Officer and President of GSMA Foundation said:
The GSMA estimates that 906 million people across Africa remain within the internet usage gap, representing about 60 per cent of the continent’s population.
The organisation says expanding network coverage alone will not be enough to bring more people online.
The new roadmap therefore focuses on other barriers, including the price of smartphones and data, limited digital skills, unreliable electricity and concerns over trust in digital services.
“The goal is ambitious, but it is achievable. If we bring together connectivity, electrification, affordable devices and digital skills - and if we match Africa’s many promising programmes with the power of genuine public-private partnership - we can ensure that the continent’s digital transformation leaves no community behind,” said Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Co-Chair of PDAA.
The roadmap also seeks stronger coordination between the energy and telecommunications sectors to make connectivity more reliable and support greater use of digital devices.