By Pascal Ndegwa - Reporter
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Kenya, October 30, 2026 - National and county leaders sat down this week to tackle one of the biggest blocks to faster internet in Kenya, the high cost of laying fibre cables and the different fees counties charge for the right of way.
The meeting was the Second ICT Sector Intergovernmental Consultative Forum. Officials from both levels of government used the day to review earlier promises and agree on fresh steps.
The talks focused hard on two linked problems. First is the cost of installing fibre infrastructure, the thin cables that carry internet signals under roads and across land. Second is the wayleave fees that counties charge companies for permission to dig and place those cables.
Officials say these fees are not the same from one county to another. That makes planning hard and drives up the final price of connecting homes, schools and businesses.
People at the table included Hon. Wesley Rotich, who co-chairs the Council of Governors ICT committee, Principal Secretary Eng. John Tanui from the State Department for ICT and Digital Economy, Principal Secretary Stephen Isaboke from Broadcasting and Telecommunications, and Principal Secretary Michael Lenasalon from Devolution. They were joined by other senior officers and stakeholders.
The cost of fibre and the patchwork of wayleave fees matter because they slow down the spread of reliable internet. When fees jump from one county border to the next, companies hesitate. Projects take longer. Some rural areas stay offline longer than they should. Students struggle to join online classes.
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Small traders miss digital markets. Farmers wait for better weather and market information. The leaders at the forum said the decisions made at this table will shape how easily citizens can reach government services and how widely digital tools spread.
Behind the discussion sits a simple reality. Kenya has a national plan to grow its digital economy. That plan needs cables in the ground and towers in the air. When counties and the national government pull in different directions on fees and costs, the plan slows down. Harmonising the fees is meant to create one clearer set of rules. Lowering the overall cost of laying fibre is meant to make more projects possible.
The same meeting also touched on treating communication towers as critical infrastructure, a step that would give them stronger protection and clearer planning status. Officials reviewed progress on the Digital Maturity Index, a tool that helps counties measure how ready they are for digital change. Assessments are already done in Kisumu and Turkana, with Kitui under way and Murang’a set for November. The wider goal is to cover all 47 counties.
Still, the sharpest focus remained on fibre costs and wayleave fees. Leaders stressed that talk must now turn into action. They said the national government and county governments must work together if digital services are to reach every part of the country.
What comes next will show whether the agreement sticks. Counties will need to move toward common fee rules. Fibre projects will need clearer, more predictable costs. If those steps happen, more communities should see better internet arrive faster. If they stall, the same barriers will keep slowing progress. For now, the message from the forum is clear: the two levels of government say they are ready to fix the cost and fee problems that have held back Kenya’s digital cables.