Firms warn of costly internet, surveillance in proposed law

This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.

Proposed changes to customer billing could trigger higher charges and enhanced surveillance and data theft, internet service providers (ISPs) have warned.

ISPs warn that compelling them to introduce ‘internet meter number’ systems to keep track of and record fixed data on each customer’s usage will require them to invest millions of shillings in specialised network management technology, ultimately pushing up internet package prices.

Storing such detailed data of customers’ internet use is a prime target for cyberattacks and large-scale data breaches, and rights groups warn that it risks being misused by the State to monitor Kenyans’ online activity.

The Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2025 seeks to compel telcos and ISPs to introduce billing systems that assign subscribers unique ‘internet meter’ numbers, similar to electricity and water providers.

Internet firms such as Safaricom, Liquid, Zuku, Poa Internet and Jamii Telkom (JTL) would be required to record customers’ internet usage, generate invoices based on consumption, and submit the data to the State.

But the telcos warn that such meters are redundant and incompatible with modern internet architecture.

“It would compel ISPs to invest millions in Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) infrastructure and complex billing mediation systems to meter every single megabyte… a cost that will ultimately be passed down to the consumer,” JTL said in its submissions to Parliament.

DPI technology inspects data being sent in a network, enabling advanced cybersecurity defence, alerting, interception, eavesdropping and large-scale internet censorship.

ISPs warn that the system would force them to change how they bill internet packages, from fixed-speed to volume metering, which could be more expensive.

Fixed-speed metering charges users by their maximum download and upload speed, like 10 Megabits-per-second (Mbps). Volume metering, common with mobile data, charges users by the total amount of data they download or upload, such as 100 Gigabytes.

Fixed internet costs are more predictable, unlike volume metering, where customers have to pay extra if they exceed the limit, or the ISP automatically drops the connection to low speeds.

“Fixed broadband is different from mobile data, where customers buy data bundles. Switching to internet metering would significantly raise consumer costs and change how broadband services are sold in Kenya,” Poa Internet told Parliament.

“Invoicing per unit of consumption would price the service on an input that no longer drives cost,” JTL, which operates the Faiba brand, said. “It would reduce consumer choice and exponentially increase monthly costs for households, academic institutions and heavy internet users.”

The proposal requiring ISPs to submit subscriber-level internet usage data to the Communications Authority of Kenya has also raised privacy concerns.

“Centralising granular subscriber-level internet history and traffic volume data directly conflicts with the statutory ‘data minimisation’ principle,” JTL said, referencing the privacy rule requiring firms to only collect, use, and keep the personal data they truly need for a clear purpose.

The firm warned that storing detailed and personally identifiable usage data in a central repository would create a high-value target for cyberattacks and potentially expose consumers to large-scale data breaches.

Rights groups have also warned that linking individuals to traceable meter numbers and tracking their internet use in real-time risks misuse by the State to monitor Kenyans’ online activity, profiling and targeting.

“State actors may misuse data to monitor activists, journalists, dissenters, and political opponents,” the International Commission of Jurists said recently.

“With no clear data protection protocols, the collected data is at risk of unauthorised access, leaks, or commercial exploitation.”

The Bill is sponsored by Aldai MP Marianne Kitany and aims to introduce more transparent pricing by ISPs to help mitigate consumer exploitation.

Fixed internet in Kenya relies primarily on speed-based monthly tiers, where Kenyans pay according to their chosen maximum download speed.

Market leader Safaricom’s monthly packages begin at Sh3,000 for 15Mbps speeds, while Zuku charges the same for a 40Mbps package. Poa has a Sh1,500 20Mbps package, while Liquid offers 20Mbps for Sh2,800.

There is no publicly available data on any country globally that uses a utility-style ‘internet meter number’ system for ISP billing.

In markets like the United States and Canada, telcos use data caps or pay-as-you-go metering, limiting users’ monthly data use.

If customers exceed the limit, they incur extra charges per gigabyte, or the ISP automatically drops the connection down to severely throttled speeds for the remainder of the billing cycle.

Flat-rate bandwidth, common in advanced fibre markets like Singapore, South Korea, France, and Japan, gives users unlimited internet data for a fixed monthly price.

Reporting originally appeared via Business Daily. Read the full source for additional context.