Safaricom Plc’s spending on licences in Kenya rose by Sh1.7 billion for the financial year ended March 2026, as the firm secured a 25-year extension to its operating licence.
Disclosures from the listed telecoms operator show that direct costs on licence fees increased to Sh16.38 billion in the period from Sh14.66 billion previously.
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) granted the extension under its Unified Licensing Framework, aligning it with other authorisations such as spectrum usage rights.
The long-term approval is expected to reduce uncertainty over the company’s future operations, replacing an earlier temporary two-year licence.
‘This provides long-term certainty and strengthens our ability to invest with confidence and reinforces the platform from which we continue delivering on our purpose,’ said Adil Khawaja, Safaricom’s Board of Directors chairman.
‘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,’ he added.
Safaricom and Airtel Kenya were previously granted temporary two-year operating licences in late 2024, pending agreement on fees, spectrum allocation and penalties for service outages.
Safaricom did not disclose the amount paid for the 25-year extension when contacted. The regulator has traditionally issued 10-year licences, making the new approval an outlier.
It was not immediately clear whether Airtel Kenya had received a similar extension under the same terms.
The temporary licences were introduced during a regulatory review aimed at shifting from administrative allocation of spectrum to an auction-based system.
Earlier, Safaricom had paid Sh1.63 billion for a two-year operating permit and a further Sh6 million in related fees. Airtel Kenya paid Sh494.2 million plus an additional Sh6 million for its extension to January 2027, with lower fees reflecting its smaller spectrum allocation.
The two operators had previously paid a combined Sh2.3 billion for 10-year licences under the earlier regime.