wiredInUSA November 2018

Fiber spread

Backbone investment

Photo by Thomas Jensen on Unsplash

Jerome Ochieng

Telkom Kenya is in talks with two unnamed parties over partnerships to allow it to sell high speed Internet capacity from two undersea data cables due to land in Kenya. The operator, the smallest in Kenya, has focused on data to gain market share. It already distributes capacity from three other undersea cables, using its extensive fiber network. Telkom, 60 percent owned by Helios Investment with 40 percent held by the government, had 4.1 million users (about 9 percent of themarket) by July 2018. “Weare now putting in place an aggressive market engagement campaign, to strengthen our push towards five million customers and beyond,” said Aldo Mareuse, Telkom CEO.

The Kenyan government is to fund the connection of sub-counties with the National Optic Fiber Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI). Principal secretary of the state department for ICT, Jerome Ochieng, said the program will be completed within three to five years, and will target areas such as government institutions, hospitals, schools and police stations. Ochieng said the government will focus on ICT to deliver the Jubilee party’s Big Four agenda, focusing on manufacturing, universal healthcare, affordable housing, and food security. “ICT is an enabler of the Big Four as it plays a critical role in Kenya’s socio-economic development,” he said. The government is committed to ensuring that ICT is integrated in the implementation of the Big Four agenda to facilitate efficient and effective processes and data sharing. “There are expectations on the need to attain affordable universal health care and [a] vibrant manufacturing sector to improve standards of living and create employment,” Ochieng added.

wiredInUSA - November 2018

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