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Network Facility Provider Licence (Tier 2) Fees / Charges

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  • Author Nairobi Online
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Network Facility Provider Licence (Tier 2) Fees / Charges
A Network Facilities Provider (NFP) Tier 2 Licence, also issued by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) under the Unified Licensing Framework, permits nationwide deployment of telecommunications infrastructure but with regional rather than national spectrum allocation guarantees — making it a lighter-weight alternative to Tier 1 status.

CA Fee Schedule for NFP Tier 2

Charge Amount
Licence Application Fee KES 5,000
Initial Operating Licence Fee KES 15,000,000
Annual Operating Fee 0.4% of annual gross turnover or KES 800,000, whichever is higher
Licence Period 15 years
Notably, the initial operating fee mirrors Tier 1 (KES 15 million), but the annual operating fee floor is far lower — KES 800,000 versus KES 4 million — reflecting Tier 2's regional spectrum scope rather than guaranteed national reservation.

Tier 2 vs Tier 1: Key Difference

Tier 1 operators receive exclusive, guaranteed spectrum reservation for countrywide use. Tier 2 operators can still deploy infrastructure nationally but must seek spectrum allocation on a case-by-case, regional/site basis rather than receiving a blanket national guarantee.

Requirements

  • Demonstrated capacity to deploy and maintain national-scale infrastructure
  • Spectrum applications handled regionally rather than as a single national grant
  • Compliance with CA technical and quality-of-service standards
  • Valid Kenyan business registration and tax compliance

Application Process

  1. Submit application detailing intended infrastructure deployment to CA
  2. Pay the KES 5,000 application fee
  3. CA evaluates technical capacity and regional spectrum availability
  4. Pay the KES 15,000,000 initial operating fee upon approval
  5. Pay the annual operating fee (0.4% of turnover or KES 800,000, whichever is higher) every year thereafter
Tier 2 NFP licensing suits operators who want nationwide infrastructure rights without committing to the highest spectrum-reservation tier, trading some spectrum certainty for a substantially lower annual fee floor than Tier 1.

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