The rules the racks live under.
Kenya is rewriting how data centres are licensed, and the gap between consultation and implementation is exactly where investment decisions get made or lost. This tracker keeps the current regime, the proposal and the parallel data-protection track in one dated view.
NFP-T2
Regime of record · since 6 March 2026
KES 100,000
Proposed initial fee · vs KES 15M under NFP-T2
30 days
Consultation window · opened 8 Sep 2026
Sep 2026
Dataset verified · against the CA's own document
Regime by regime
Fees and validity are stated exactly as proposed or gazetted. The proposal is not law yet: NFP-T2 remains the licence of record through at least FY2026/27, with implementation scheduled FY2027/28.
NFP-T2 (Network Facilities Provider Tier 2)Current
Application KES 5,000; 15-year licence fee KES 15 million, or 0.4% of gross annual turnover, whichever is higher
Validity: 15 years
Where colocation data centres have been licensed since 6 March 2026 (Gazette Notice No. 3335, Revised Telecommunications Market Structure). Remainder of the licensing regime for facilities entering the market now.
Standalone Data Centre licence (proposed)Proposed
Application KES 5,000; initial licence fee KES 100,000; annual operating fee KES 80,000 or 0.4% of annual gross turnover, whichever is higher
Validity: 15 years (proposed)
CA public consultation opened 8 September 2026, 30-day window (comments due ~8 October 2026). Would remove colocation from NFP-T2; NFP and ASP licence holders would remain exempt. Finalisation scheduled FY2026/27, implementation FY2027/28. The Universal Service Fund levy (0.5% of annual gross revenue) still applies on top.
Data Protection Act 2019 obligations (ODPC)Current
ODPC registration where thresholds are met
Validity: Ongoing
Runs in parallel whichever CA licence applies: operator registration, breach notification (72-hour ODPC window for controllers) and Section 48 transfer restrictions. A CA licence is not a data-protection clearance.
The road from proposal to licence
- 6 March 2026Commercial data centres brought under telecom licensing: Gazette Notice No. 3335 and the Revised Telecommunications Market Structure place colocation in NFP-T2.
- 8 September 2026CA opens a 30-day public consultation on a standalone Data Centre licence, recognising colocation provides 'colocation, power, cooling, storage and computing' rather than telecom services to end users.
- ~8 October 2026Comment deadline through the CA's open consultations portal. Operators, tenants and investors all have standing.
- FY2026/27Consultation, finalisation of the framework and the consequential revision of the telecommunications market structure (the consultation document's roadmap table places the revision in this financial year, correcting earlier press reports that put it in FY2027/28).
- FY2027/28Implementation of the licensing framework, with facilities migrating to the new category. Transition mechanics (migration, renewal, fee harmonisation) settle in this window.
Primary record
- Communications Authority of Kenya, Proposed Licensing Framework for Data Centres (September 2026, Consultation Version) - full text captured, figures verified exact
- Communications Authority of Kenya, open consultations
- Business Daily, CA to issue standalone permits for data centres (8 Sep 2026)
- Developing Telecoms, Kenya regulator proposes standalone licence for data centres (9 Sep 2026)
- w.media, Kenya's standalone data center license aims to lure investment (Sep 2026)
The full analysis, including the ODPC intersection and what it means for operators and investors: CA consultation explainer . Verified 2026-09 against the regulator's consultation document (captured in full) and independent outlets.