Faiba Takes the Crown: Kenya’s Fixed Internet Rankings for 2026

The battle for Kenya's home and office internet has a new top dog. According to nPerf's 2026 performance data, Jamii Telecommunications' Faiba has finally edged out the competition to become the number one ranked fixed internet provider in the country.

For developers, gamers and anyone else who needs to get their work done, these rankings give you a clear idea of which provider is best suited for the high-bandwidth tasks you need handled - things like video conferencing, cloud deployments and seamless streaming.

Faiba Rises to the Top

According to the tests, Faiba didn't just win - it dominated the field. Over the past assessment period, Faiba's download speeds shot up by a whopping 89%, clocking in an average of 62.68 megabits per second. And to make matters even more impressive, Faiba took the top spot for upload speeds, web browsing and YouTube streaming.

The nPerf Scorecard (2026)

The nPerf score (measured in nPoints) factors in download bitrate, upload bitrate, and latency to reflect the true "human experience" of a connection.

Latency: VGG Connect Still Reigns for Devs

While Faiba is the speed king, VGG Connect has managed to hold on to its title as the latency champion for the fifth year running.

For developers who spend their days staring at SSH terminal windows and trying to get things done online, latency (or ping) is more important than raw download speed. VGG Connect managed a market-leading latency of just 14.20 ms - a significant gap over the sector average.

Why Latency Matters:
High latency is basically just another word for lag. Even if you've got a snazzy 100 Mb/s download speed, a high latency like Airtel's 50.15 ms can make video calls all choppy and remote server commands feel like they're moving in slow motion.

The "Big Two" Fight Back: Safaricom and Zuku

Despite being pipped by Faiba in the speed stakes, the two biggest players in the market showed some decent resilience:

• Safaricom (3rd Place): Safaricom is still moving in the right direction, thanks in part to a big surge in infrastructure investment. Upload speeds were up 25% this year, which put them at 26.82 Mb/s. They're still a pretty safe bet in terms of web browsing.

• Zuku (4th Place): Zuku's had a lot of criticism in the past for reliability issues, but in reality, they actually posted a pretty big jump in download speeds (35.35 Mb/s). Zuku remains the go-to choice for anyone who wants to stream lots of stuff at home, but they're still lagging behind in the general user experience stakes.

The Comeback: Airtel Kenya

Airtel Kenya is a bit of a dark horse - it's still currently stuck at the bottom of the top five, but they're showing some impressive signs of improvements. An 61% surge in upload speeds means it's fixed data offerings are now starting to look viable for anyone who's still waiting for the big boys to bring fibre to their area. The problem is, their latency is still a pretty big issue at 50.15 ms - not great for anyone who needs to get things done in a hurry.

Summary: Which ISP Should You Choose in 2026?

For the Power User / Full-Stack Developer

If you're pushing large Docker images or trying to get web platforms up and running, you can't go past Faiba. Their symmetrical-leaning speeds and high nPoints score make them the workhorse of choice in the country.

For the Real-Time Specialist / Gamer

If you need things to happen in real time (voip, gaming, live trading) then, VGG Connect is the only sensible choice. Their latency of 14.20 ms is the best in the business.

For the General Household

Safaricom and Zuku remain the most accessible. Safaricom offers better customer support and a more stable browsing experience, while Zuku provides competitive download speeds for 4K streaming and large downloads.