Kenyans React After Safaricom Confirms Outage Of Internet Services: "I've Spent Over KSh 2K On Data"

• On Sunday, May 12, thousands of Safaricom customers reported delays in internet connectivity across the country
• The leading telecommunications firm confirmed the disruption, attributing it to an outage of one of the internet cables in the sea
• Kenyans shared their experience, with some demanding compensation after wasting their money buying data bundles

TUKO.co.ke journalist Wycliffe Musalia brings over five years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting, offering deep insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.

Kenyans have expressed their concerns following disruptions in internet services across the country.

Leading telecommunications firm Safaricom confirmed an outage in internet connectivity on Sunday, May 12.

What caused Safaricom internet outage?

The disruption extended to Monday, May 13, as the telco revealed an outage in the undersea cables, which affected internet connectivity across networks and globally.

"We have since activated redundancy measures to minimise service interruption and keep you connected as we await the full restoration of the cable. You may, however, experience reduced internet speeds," said Safaricom.

Speaking to TUKO.co.ke on Monday, May 13, the telco confirmed that the repairs of the cables were still ongoing.

"About the damaged cables, that is still under repair, but we have set up measures to keep our customers connected," said Safaricom.

What Kenyans want Safaricom to do about internet outage

The internet disruption left thousands of Safaricom customers stranded, with some spending money to buy data bundles, which ended up going to waste.

@yrnsinh said:

"I can't believe I wasted KSh 500 on data today thinking my phone was the problem."

@JanjiLuvuno requested:

"I hope you extend the time for each bundle bought, otherwise, the speed won't match the intended time it was to reach."

@Sium_254 asked:

"I have spent more than KSh 2000 to buy internet bundles for my meetings and streaming, will you somehow compensate this please?

@bbbb254r asked:

"Kwani pia internet huwa tunaimport?

Joshua Muimi wrote on Facebook:

"Your internet speed has been terrible for the last one month. I was even thinking of shifting to other WiFi service providers."

Moses M Mutindah wrote:

"I was even thinking of replacing my sim card."

Shylar Inziani said:

"I have bought bundles again and again hope you will give me back my bundles."

Safaricom PLC replied:

"Hello Shylar, apologies for this, we will advise, once the issue is resolved."

Allan Ngugi claimed:

"As I wait patiently for the issue to be resolved I hope you will give me birthday data 1 GB, brother si kurahisii huku njee."

Shadrack Bett noted:

"You should compensate us for the disturbances."

How Internet services contribute to Safaricom revenue

This came after the company reported a growth in its revenue, supported by an increase in data and internet usage.

Safaricom mobile data revenue recorded double-digit growth of 18% to KSh 63.24 billion. ARPU grew marginally by 1.5% to KSh 242.71.

This accounted for 19.2% of service revenue during the period under review.

Fibre to the home (FTTH) and fixed enterprise contributed 4.6% of the Safaricom PLC service revenue.

Proofreading by Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke