Internet availability and use grows by leaps and bounds

Internet browsing. The Internet has undoubtedly revolutionalised the way we communicate. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Invented in 1969 by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), the Internet has spread all over the country with its services becoming cheaper every day.
  • By 1990, a technology referred to as CERN was developed by Tim Berners Lee, who developed the idea of linking docs with hyperlinks.

The growth of Internet in Kenya has rapidly increased with more people getting access.

Invented in 1969 by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), the Internet has spread all over the country with its services becoming cheaper every day.

The US military which created the ARPA in 1957 led to the development of the Internet.

The era of data transmission in newer technologies were already established by the 1970s. In 1985, The first ever domain successfully went online by the name symbolics.com.


By 1990, a technology referred to as CERN was developed by Tim Berners Lee, who developed the idea of linking docs with hyperlinks.

This new technology made the Internet even more powerful by developing the world-wide web – www – that for the first time changed the world entirely and made information sharing and data transmission easier.


Kenya had been using the fax machine as the fasted way of sending messages long before the Internet came to be 1995.

Between 1995 and 1998, analogue dial up connection drops were the way of life. Internet had not yet become a faster way of sending messages and barely did people know how to use it.


In most of the areas in the country, the penetration of Internet was moving on slowly.

Bulletin Board System (BBS) platform was mostly used to forward email and exercise which was very expensive for most of the people.

The fax machine was the biggest competitor.

Back then, accessing the web was literally too slow and one had to wait for the web pages to load.  Internet regulations were highly restricted and unavoidable to many Kenyans.


Late 2000, the Kenya Internet Exchange was set up by Kenya internet service providers as an attempt to cut their operating costs by avoiding the use of expensive international links mostly via satellite at the time.

In the same year, Kenya had more than 200,000 internet users, a number that kept increasing. In 2009, ICT legislation was passed that sent the Internet access costs dropping. This led to the number of users to rise to 10.4 million as at the end of 2011.


Kenya was ranked the fourth among Africa’s top internet countries as at December 31, 2011.


However, this figure varied from the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) statistics that put the total number of internet users at 17.3 million combining all mobile and data internet subscribers, terrestrial wireless subscribers, satellite subscriptions, fixed Internet connections, fibre optic subscriptions and fixed cable modem users.

Kenya’s Internet penetration was estimated at 25.5 per cent of the population, which stands at 41 million people according to the World Internet statistics. This time round, CCK’s figure put the penetration at 36.6 per cent.


A World Bank report published in 2012 indicated that internet users in Kenya was gaining momentum in the country faster that it had.

The Fourth Quarter of the Financial Year 2011/2012 by the CCK statistics, Kenya’s Internet penetration had risen by about 19 per cent to stand at 14.032 million users.

Competitive tariffs increased demand

Accessibility of the Internet through mobile phones and cheaper Internet services from cyber café had greatly contributed to more young people using social media.

Competitive tariffs by mobile operators, increased demand for data services and aggressive promotional offers all contributed to this.


As at now the mobile internet subscription accounts for 98.9 per cent of the total Internet subscriptions and Fibre subscription has gained 26.7 per cent growth.

Remarkably, satellite subscription has declined by about 37 per cent, main reason being the roll out of the Fibre infrastructure across the country.

Internet access in Kenya is fairly widespread in most of major cities and most towns.


In most of public computer internet services, rates are low, typically Sh1 per minute and in top-end places or remote areas, prices may be as high as Sh20 per minute.

Improved internet connectivity in Kenya is enhancing access to education and accelerating economic growth while at the same time creating jobs.


More business people have turned to online marketing which is making online services accessible through computers and mobile phones have reduced transaction costs in various sectors making citizens lives easier.


Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) data shows the growth in mobile phone subscribers can be attributed to the, entertainment and mobile money transfer.


Internet penetration has also been made accessible through the coming up of fibre-optic cables through the ICT ministry seeks to increase access to fast Internet up to 35 per cent of total households from the current 6.3 per cent by 2017.

Wifi connections in buildings and public service vehicles have also made Internet to penetrate further beyond the major towns.