For the first time in history, Safaricom is making more money from internet data than from traditional phone calls. This change shows a huge shift in how Kenyans use their phones, moving away from “airtime” and SMS toward apps like TikTok, WhatsApp, and Netflix.
According to Safaricom’s financial results released on Thursday for the year ending March 2026, mobile data now brings in 42.1% of the company’s connection revenue, officially beating voice calls at 41.3%.
The Big Switch: Why the Change?
Kenyans are changing their habits. Instead of calling or sending regular text messages (SMS), people are spending their time and money on:
• Social Media: Browsing TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
• Messaging Apps: Moving away from SMS to use WhatsApp and Telegram.
• Online Banking: Using the internet for business and shopping.
Because of this, money made from SMS dropped by nearly 12%, while internet revenue jumped by over 14%.
More Data, Lower Prices
Even though Safaricom made the internet cheaper last year (prices dropped by about 12% per megabyte), they still made more money. This is because people are using the internet much more heavily.
• Heavier Users: 14.5 million customers now use more than 1GB of data every month.
• Monthly Average: The average user now consumes nearly 5GB of data each month—a 16.6% increase from last year.
• Better Phones: More people have smartphones now. There are over 33 million smartphones on Safaricom’s network, and the number of 5G devices grew by 55%.
The Profit Picture
While data is growing fast, Safaricom’s total business is still huge.
• Total Connection Revenue: KES 197.9 billion ($1.53 billion).
• M-PESA Revenue: KES 182.7 billion ($1.41 billion).
• Net Profit: Safaricom’s overall profit rose by nearly 25%, hitting KES 119.1 billion ($922 million).
The Bottom Line
Safaricom’s results prove that the future of phones in Africa is all about the internet. As voice calls become less popular, telecom companies are racing to provide faster 4G and 5G internet to keep up with a younger, “always-online” generation.
For the average user, this means better network coverage and more pressure on companies to keep data prices affordable.
