Will Kenya’s internet become metered? What the proposed law could mean for your Wi-Fi bill

A proposed law could change how Kenyans pay for home internet, but the Bill is not yet law. Here is what users need to know about the proposed meter system, costs and privacy concerns.

For millions of Kenyans who pay a fixed monthly fee for home fibre, the way they use the internet could change if a new proposal before Parliament becomes law.

The Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2025, sponsored by Aldai MP Marianne Kitany, proposes that internet service providers introduce a metered billing system for subscribers. The Bill received its First Reading in the National Assembly on 1 July 2026 and was subsequently referred to the relevant parliamentary committee. It has not become law.

So, what exactly is being proposed?

Under the Bill, internet providers would be required to give every customer a unique and identifiable “internet meter” number, monitor usage, convert consumption into readable details, generate invoices based on consumption and allow users to verify their bills. Providers would also be required to submit information about their billing systems, including meter numbers issued to subscribers, to the Communications Authority of Kenya at least once a year.

The proposal is intended to strengthen consumer protection by making internet consumption measurable and billing more transparent.

But it could represent a significant change from the way many Kenyan households currently buy fixed broadband.

Today, customers commonly pay a monthly fee for a package defined largely by internet speed. Under a consumption-based model, however, the amount of data used could become an important factor in the final bill. Internet providers have warned that such a system could require substantial investment in new billing and network-management infrastructure, potentially increasing costs for consumers.

Will unlimited Wi-Fi disappear?

Not necessarily.

The Bill proposes consumption-based billing, but it does not by itself establish that every existing “unlimited” package must disappear. How providers ultimately price their services would depend on the final legislation, regulations and commercial decisions made by internet companies.

That distinction is important. A system could potentially provide customers with detailed consumption information without necessarily forcing every household into a pay-per-gigabyte package.

For heavy users — including families streaming video, gamers, students and people working from home — the eventual pricing model could nevertheless make a major difference.

The bigger concern: privacy

The debate is not only about money.

Civil-society groups have raised concerns about the amount of information that could be generated by mandatory internet metering. Amnesty International Kenya says the proposal would create a persistent identifier linked to subscribers and require providers to monitor usage, while questioning whether the Bill contains sufficient safeguards on data retention, security and access.

Internet companies have also warned that storing detailed usage information could increase cybersecurity risks. Some providers argue that implementing the proposed system would require expensive technologies and infrastructure, with those costs potentially passed on to customers.

The debate therefore goes beyond “Will my Wi-Fi bill increase?”

It raises a more fundamental question: how much information about people's internet consumption should providers collect, and what should the government be able to access?

What happens next?

The Bill is still going through parliamentary scrutiny, meaning its provisions can be amended, rejected or retained before any final decision.

For Kenyan internet users, the most important questions are therefore still open: Will billing remain affordable? Will unlimited packages survive? What information will providers actually collect? How long will it be stored? And what safeguards will prevent misuse?

Until Parliament completes the process and any resulting legislation takes effect, Kenyans do not need to start paying their home internet by the gigabyte.

But the proposed law is important enough for every internet user to watch — because it could fundamentally change the relationship between Kenyans, their internet providers and the data generated every time they go online.