The Kenya Communications Act, 1998, as amended by the Kenya Communications (Amendment, Act, 2009, outlaws the operation of communications systems and provision of communications services without a license from the Commission. The systems and services referred to by law include telecommunications, postal/courier, broadcasting and e-transaction services. The use of scarce resources (i.e. numbers and frequencies) also fall under the ambit of the law.

The Commission issues licenses in accordance with the prevailing market structure as stipulated in the Licensing Framework or Regime. Currently, the licensing process is informed by the Unified Licensing Framework, which the Commission adopted in July 2008.

Upon obtaining the requisite licenses, operators and service providers are required to keep their licenses valid through conforming with the provisions of the law and the terms and conditions spelt out in their respective licenses.