Utilities, ISPs & water · Kenya

SMS for ISPs, water and energy providers in Kenya

When home fibre goes down in Nairobi or a water company rations supply, customers want an explanation before they pick up the phone. eSMS Africa lets ISPs, water service providers, pay-as-you-go solar firms and energy companies send outage notices, renewal reminders and payment receipts to every affected account in minutes.

Create a free account Talk to sales

Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom Delivery reports From KES 1.08 per SMS

MTANDAOTransactional

Mtandao Fibre: Your 30 Mbps plan expires on 25/11. Renew KES 2,999 via Paybill 888999, Acc MF20417, to stay connected.

118 chars · 1 segment · GSM-7

Kenya context

What makes utilities, isps & water messaging different in Kenya

Home and business fibre is sold on monthly plans paid by M-Pesa, so a renewal reminder a few days before expiry is often the difference between a renewal and a disconnection.
Water service providers are licensed and overseen by WASREB, and many publish rationing schedules that change at short notice during dry seasons.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) regulates electricity and off-grid energy. Pay-as-you-go solar customers pay in small M-Pesa amounts and receive unlock codes or credit confirmations by SMS.
Telecommunications is a mandatory ODPC registration sector, and ISPs hold location and usage data that customers expect to stay private.

What to send

Messages utilities, isps & water teams in Kenya send

Renewal and bill reminders

Send a reminder three days before a plan expires or a bill falls due, with the amount and the paybill account, and stop it once payment arrives.

Outage and maintenance alerts

Notify customers in an affected area as soon as an outage is confirmed, give an estimated restoration time and send a follow-up when service is back.

Payment and credit receipts

Confirm every payment with the amount, the new expiry date or credit balance and, for PAYG solar, the unlock code if your system uses one.

Installation appointments

Confirm the technician's visit date and time window, send the technician's name on the day and ask the customer to reply if they need to reschedule.

Water rationing schedules

Send the weekly supply schedule by zone, and alert customers early when a burst pipe or low reservoir changes it. Residents can store water before supply stops.

Sample messages

Copy-ready templates for Kenya

Character counts and segments are calculated with the same GSM-7 and Unicode rules used for billing. Replace the example brand and values with your own.

Renewal reminder Transactional

Mtandao Fibre: Your 30 Mbps plan expires on 25/11. Renew KES 2,999 via Paybill 888999, Acc MF20417, to stay connected.

118 chars · 1 segment · GSM-7

Outage alert Transactional

Mtandao Fibre: We are fixing a fibre cut affecting Kileleshwa and Lavington. Expected restoration 4pm today. Sorry for the disruption.

134 chars · 1 segment · GSM-7

Water schedule (Kiswahili) Transactional Kiswahili

Maji Safi Co: Maji yatapatikana eneo la Kibera Jumanne na Ijumaa kuanzia saa 12 asubuhi. Hifadhi maji. Simu 0700 000 888.

121 chars · 1 segment · GSM-7

Upgrade offer Promotional

Mtandao Fibre: Upgrade to 60 Mbps for the same price for 3 months. Details: mtandao.co.ke/up. Opt out: mtandao.co.ke/stop

121 chars · 1 segment · GSM-7

Rules that apply

Compliance for utilities, isps & water SMS in Kenya

A practical summary with sources, not legal advice. Check the regulator's current text for edge cases.

Bills, renewals, outage alerts and receipts are transactional and can be sent at any time, although overnight alerts should be limited to genuine emergencies.
Upgrade offers and bundles are promotional on Safaricom. Use a promotional sender ID, include an opt-out and send between 08:00 and 18:00.
ISPs and telcos must register with the ODPC regardless of size. Do not include location or usage data in SMS beyond what the customer needs.
Water and power providers should align outage messages with notices filed with their regulator, WASREB or EPRA, so customers hear the same message from every channel.

Across Kenya

Telecom regulator: Communications Authority of Kenya (CA)
Data protection: Data Protection Act, 2019, Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC)
Languages: English, Kiswahili
Payments: M-Pesa, Airtel Money, T-Kash

The Kenya Information and Communications (Consumer Protection) Regulations, 2010 require automated direct-marketing schemes to be opt-in and to give a working way to stop messages.
The Data Protection (General) Regulations, 2021 treat electronic messages as direct marketing: offer a free, simple opt-out in every promotional SMS and honour objections. The ODPC has made awards against firms over unsolicited messages.
Safaricom separates promotional and transactional sender IDs. Its operator notice requires promotional traffic to carry an opt-out and to be sent between 08:00 and 18:00; OTPs and alerts are not time-restricted.
Political bulk SMS follows the CA guidelines on political messages (vetting before sending, English or Kiswahili only).

Sender ID registration in Kenya

Send it

From your system to Safaricom and Airtel in one call

1Create an account and copy a test key (esms_test_...) to try the integration without spending credit.
2Request your sender ID for Kenya. Until it is approved you can send from the eSMS default sender.
3Call the send endpoint from your app, or upload a CSV in the dashboard with merge fields like {{name}}. Delivery reports arrive by webhook.

Need one-time codes? eSMS Verify generates, sends and checks them in two calls. Full reference in the API docs.

curl -X POST https://sms.esmsafrica.io/api/messages/send \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ESMS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "to": "+254712345678",
    "text": "Mtandao Fibre: Your plan expires on 25/11. Renew via Paybill 888999, Acc MF20417, to stay connected.",
    "sender_id": "MTANDAO"
  }'

Live pricing

SMS pricing in Kenya

Per-SMS rates for one segment, updated live. Pay as you go with no monthly minimum; volume rates apply automatically by monthly spend.

Basic

KES1.08

per SMS· USD 0.0083

Monthly spend USD 1 - USD 1,000

Business

KES0.9

per SMS· USD 0.0069

Monthly spend USD 1,001 - USD 4,999

Enterprise

KES0.15

per SMS· USD 0.0012

Monthly spend USD 5,000+

Estimate a campaign with the SMS cost calculator or compare all countries in the Africa SMS pricing index.

FAQ

Utilities, ISPs & water SMS in Kenya: common questions

How quickly can we alert everyone affected by an outage?

Upload or select the affected customer group and send immediately, or trigger the bulk API from your network monitoring system. Delivery reports in the dashboard show how many customers have received the alert. Sending early cuts the volume of calls and social media complaints your support team has to handle.

Can customers report faults by SMS?

Yes, with a two-way number or short code in Kenya. Customers text a keyword and their account number, and the message reaches your helpdesk system by webhook, where you can open a ticket automatically. Send an acknowledgement with the ticket number so the customer knows the report arrived.

Is a renewal reminder promotional?

A reminder that an existing plan is about to expire, with the renewal amount, is a service message. A message that pushes a bigger plan or a bundle is promotional and belongs on your promotional sender ID with an opt-out.