Which class do I pick if I serve one estate in Nairobi?

Choose NFP-T3 (Network Facilities Provider Tier 3: single county). It covers operations within one county and is the typical entry point for new fibre-to-the-estate ISPs. You can upgrade to NFP-T2 once you expand beyond Nairobi County.

Is the operating fee a flat amount or a percentage of turnover?

Whichever is greater. The Communications Authority applies a 0.4% rate to your gross annual turnover and compares it to the tier's flat minimum. A small NFP-T3 ISP earning KES 5M pays the flat KES 25,000 minimum; at KES 10M the percentage (KES 40,000) exceeds the minimum and kicks in.

What is the Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution?

The USF is a 0.5% levy on gross turnover, collected by the CA to fund rural-connectivity projects mandated under the Kenya Information and Communications Act. It is separate from the annual operating fee and is mandatory for all licence holders regardless of tier.

Kenya CA License Fee Calculator

Estimate your annual Communications Authority licence fees by class and turnover, with a full breakdown of application, operating, and USF costs.

By FyberPay Engineering: operators running Kenyan ISP infrastructure.

Reviewed 17 May 2026

1. Select your licence class

NFP-T1National network operator. Required for operating fibre or wireless networks across more than 8 counties.National coverage; fibre / microwave / satellite uplinks; usually MNOs or large Tier-1 ISPs.NFP-T2Regional operator covering up to 8 counties. Most growing Kenyan ISPs fall here.Common tier for Kenyan ISPs operating in Nairobi + 2-3 adjacent counties.NFP-T3Single-county operator. The starter tier for new ISPs.Small ISP serving one county; often a fibre-to-the-estate or hotspot operator.ASPProvides applications and content over someone else's network (resellers, IPTV, VoIP, OTT services).Reseller / VAS / IPTV without owning network infrastructure.CSPProvides broadcast or streamed content (radio over IP, FM uplink, OTT video at scale).Used by VAS players that primarily distribute content; not common for fibre ISPs.

2. Annual gross turnover (KES)

KES

Your total revenue before any deductions. Use projected revenue if you are a new applicant.

3. Years operating (0 = new)

Enter 0 if this is a first-year application: the application and initial licence fees will be included.

Estimated total for this year

Ksh 925,000

Network Facilities Provider: Tier 2 (Regional) · validity 15 years

Application & license: Ksh 525,000

Annual operating: Ksh 300,000

USF contribution: Ksh 100,000

Line item	Amount
Application fee (one-time)	Ksh 25,000
Initial licence fee (first year)	Ksh 500,000
Annual operating fee	Ksh 300,000
USF contribution (0.5% of turnover)	Ksh 100,000
Total this year	Ksh 925,000

Data sourced from the Communications Authority of Kenya Licensing Framework. Verify current rates before filing.

How to use this

Select your licence class. Pick the class that matches your network scope: NFP-T3 for single-county, NFP-T2 for multi-county regional, NFP-T1 for national. ASP and CSP cover resellers and content players respectively.
Enter your annual gross turnover. Enter your total revenue before deductions. If you are applying for the first time, use your projected turnover for the first year of operation.
Set years operating to 0 for a new application. Leave years operating at 0 to include the one-time application fee and initial licence fee. Change it to 1 or more to see your ongoing annual cost.

How it works

The CA licence fee structure has three components, each calculated separately and summed for your total annual obligation¹.

Application and initial licence fees are one-time costs paid when you first apply. The application fee is a processing charge (KES 5,000 to KES 50,000 depending on tier). The initial licence fee is the upfront cost of the licence itself and is considerably higher than the annual renewal. Neither appears in year two onwards.

Annual operating fee uses a max(flat_minimum, turnover × 0.4%) formula. At low turnover levels the flat minimum protects the CA's revenue floor; at higher turnovers the percentage dominates. NFP-T2 minimum is KES 300,000; NFP-T3 minimum is KES 25,000.

Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution is a straight 0.5% of gross turnover, applied uniformly across all licence classes. There is no minimum or cap; it scales directly with revenue. At KES 50M turnover an operator contributes KES 250,000 to the USF annually.

In a Kenyan ISP context

Most growing Kenyan ISPs begin as NFP-T3 operators in a single county, then upgrade to NFP-T2 as they expand into two or three adjacent counties. The upgrade requires a fresh application and a higher initial licence fee, but the annualised cost per year over a 15-year licence is modest compared with infrastructure spend.

A first-year NFP-T2 operator with KES 20M gross turnover faces an estimated all-in cost of around KES 905,000: KES 25,000 application, KES 500,000 initial licence, KES 300,000 operating fee (flat minimum, since 0.4% of 20M is KES 80,000 which is below the minimum), and KES 100,000 USF. In year two, that drops to KES 400,000 (operating + USF only). The USF becomes increasingly significant at higher turnovers: at KES 100M it adds half a million to the annual bill.

Operators providing services purely over a third party's network (internet resellers, IPTV platforms, VoIP providers) typically hold an Application Service Provider licence rather than an NFP licence. The ASP class has lower fees but does not grant the right to build or own network infrastructure. If you later want to lay your own fibre, you will need to add an NFP licence.

FAQ

Which class do I pick if I serve one estate in Nairobi?: Choose NFP-T3 (Network Facilities Provider Tier 3: single county). It covers operations within one county and is the typical entry point for new fibre-to-the-estate ISPs. You can upgrade to NFP-T2 once you expand beyond Nairobi County.
Is the operating fee a flat amount or a percentage of turnover?: Whichever is greater. The Communications Authority applies a 0.4% rate to your gross annual turnover and compares it to the tier's flat minimum. A small NFP-T3 ISP earning KES 5M pays the flat KES 25,000 minimum; at KES 10M the percentage (KES 40,000) exceeds the minimum and kicks in.
What is the Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution?: The USF is a 0.5% levy on gross turnover, collected by the CA to fund rural-connectivity projects mandated under the Kenya Information and Communications Act. It is separate from the annual operating fee and is mandatory for all licence holders regardless of tier.

How we calculate this

Fee data sourced from the Communications Authority of Kenya Licensing Framework¹, retrieved 2026-05-17. The CA publishes fee amendments annually; verify current rates at ca.go.ke before filing.

annual_operating = max(tier_flat_minimum, gross_turnover × 0.004)

usf_contribution = gross_turnover × 0.005

total = (application_fee + initial_licence_fee) + annual_operating + usf_contribution

Application and initial licence fees are zero for year two onwards. No tax modelling (VAT, KRA corporate tax) is included; this is a regulatory-fee estimate only.

Sources

Kenya Communications Authority: Licensing Framework (categories, fees, USF) · Communications Authority of Kenya · retrieved 2026-05-17