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By Victoria Fakiya
Lagos, Kenya: Airtel Kenya thought its long-running licence headache was finally over. Not quite. The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has now published a notice showing that Airtel’s applications for two key permits are still awaiting approval, despite the company saying in August that it had secured a new 25-year licence.
The CA says the applications for a Network Facilities Provider Tier 1 (NFPT1) licence and an International Gateway Systems and Services (IGSS) authorisation are open for public submissions until September 28, 2026, after which the regulator can make a decision.
The NFPT1 permit allows Airtel to deploy communications infrastructure across Kenya, including data centres, while the IGSS authorisation covers satellite-related services and technology. And that second one is particularly important right now because Airtel is preparing to bring Starlink Direct-to-Cell connectivity to Kenya.
Airtel and SpaceX successfully tested satellite-powered data and messaging in Kenya in March 2026, but a successful test doesn’t mean the service can simply go live without regulatory approval.
And this licence confusion has been years in the making. Airtel’s original Kenyan licence expired in 2015, and the company spent years in a dispute with the regulator. Airtel had inherited the licence from YuMobile after acquiring the operator in 2014.
An out-of-court settlement in 2022 helped trigger a renewal of the expired licence through 2025. Then, in September 2024, the CA gave Airtel a temporary two-year extension, effective January 2025, while the two sides worked through issues including fees, spectrum and penalties for service outages. That temporary permit runs until January 2027.
Then came the apparent breakthrough. On August 6, 2026, Airtel Kenya CEO Djibril Tobe said the company had secured a 25-year licence after paying an undisclosed fee and that only the final administrative steps, including the satellite permit, remained.
A few weeks later, however, the CA’s August 28 gazette notice showed that the applications were still going through the formal approval process. The regulator and Airtel have not publicly explained the apparent mismatch.
Meanwhile, rival Safaricom has already secured its own 25-year licence. So for now, Airtel is operating, but the exact status of its long-term permits, and when its Starlink-powered service can launch in Kenya, remains an unusually messy regulatory puzzle.
