Kenya’s Safaricom targets extra mounted Web customers with 5G community

Oct 27 (Reuters) – Kenya’s largest telecoms operator Safaricom (SCOM.NR) launched its 5G high-speed web service on Thursday, changing into the primary agency to deploy the know-how commercially in East Africa.

The corporate, whose web provision enterprise is one in every of its quickest rising, makes use of tools from Nokia (NOKIA.HE) and Huawei (HWT.UL) to energy its 5G community.

Safaricom, which is part-owned by South Africa’s Vodacom (VODJ.J) and Britain’s Vodafone (VOD.L), is initially providing Wi-Fi subscriptions first because it makes an attempt to win a better share of the mounted information market.

“We… view 5G as being crucial in delivering new options that can tackle financial improvement, healthcare, manufacturing, infrastructure and even supply of presidency companies,” mentioned Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa at a launch ceremony for the community.

Whereas Safaricom dominates the cell information market – commanding a few 65% share – it holds solely a few third of the mounted information market, information from the Communications Authority of Kenya confirmed.

Apart from the Wi-Fi market alternative, the preliminary deal with 5G Wi-Fi somewhat than cell is as a result of there are nonetheless comparatively few 5G-compatible units in Kenya, the corporate mentioned.

Out of practically 27 million smartphones in use in Kenya, Ndegwa mentioned solely about 200,000 are 5G-compatible due to the excessive prices of such units.

However costs are coming down shortly and corporations equivalent to Safaricom are increasing their financing fashions which ought to broaden entry, he mentioned on the launch.

Clients with appropriate telephones would nevertheless be capable of use the community quickly, the corporate mentioned, when it begins promoting 5G information packages.

The agency has 35 energetic 5G websites in Nairobi and different main cities and it plans to extend that quantity to 200 by March subsequent yr. It began testing the community final yr.

The USA authorities has urged international locations to not embody Huawei of their 5G plans, citing safety issues which Huawei has denied.

Reporting by Ayenat Mersie; enhancing by Hereward Holland and Jason Neely

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Ideas.