Connecting Africa is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 3099067.

Ultra-Broadband

Safaricom Rolls Out FTTH, Eyes Smart Home Opportunity

Article Image
Safaricom has officially launched its "Fibre To Home Regional Roll Out Plan" that will see the network operator aim to deliver ultra-broadband services to hundreds of thousands of homes across Kenya and, ultimately, deliver value-added services such as TV and smart home applications.

The operator, which says it currently has 95,000 homes connected to fiber, believes its total addressable market for fiber broadband is 2 million homes, about 17% of the country's households, according to the operator's director of products and services for consumer business unit, Franklin Kano Ocharo, who gave a presentation on the plans during the recent Operations Transformation Forum organized by Huawei Technologies.

He noted that Kenya has a very young population that is consuming increasing volumes of data, much of which runs over fixed-line connections. "They snack on mobile, binge on fixed," he noted.

So Safaricom is aiming to capture an important slice of the fixed broadband market by building a provisioning and activation process that is as easy and quick as possible for customers, including even same-day installation whenever possible.

The operator also engaged in a number of market research projects with specialist companies and with Huawei, which has supplied its OSS software to the operator to support the FTTH rollout, network management and service delivery.

"Customers' insights reveal that access to reliable and convenient internet in the home has become increasingly critical, and this for us presents a huge opportunity," noted the company's director of regional sales and operations, Steve Okeyo, in an official statement. "Our plan is to ensure that every customer that needs fibre connectivity at their homes across the country can access it affordably and at zero installation cost," he added.

One of slides presented by Safaricom's Director of Products and Services for Consumer Business Unit, Franklin Kano Ocharo, at Huawei's recent Operations Transformation Forum.
One of slides presented by Safaricom's Director of Products and Services for Consumer Business Unit, Franklin Kano Ocharo, at Huawei's recent Operations Transformation Forum.

Customers are able to choose from a range of service options, from Kshs2,500 per month for a connection of up to 5 Mbit/s to Kshs9,999 per month for up to 40 Mbit/s.

The first phase of the rollout is in Kitengela town and the surrounding area, targeting 14,000 homes with a plan to reach 40% penetration within the next three months. Other towns targeted in this phase include Athi River, Buruburu, Ngong Road, Runda, Ruaka and Karen.

The aim initially is to provide Internet access services but then introduce fixed-mobile convergence services, TV over broadband and, ultimately, a range of smart home services.

— Ray Le Maistre, International Group Editor, Light Reading for Connecting Africa.

Innovation hub

Story

Hot startup of the month: Nigeria's Tech Herfrica

Connecting Africa's hot startup is Nigeria's Tech Herfrica, a social impact organization that focuses on the digital and financial inclusion of women and girls in rural areas of Nigeria.

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

More Innovation hub

Latest video

More videos

Partner perspectives

All Partner Perspectives

Sponsored video

More videos

Industry announcements

More Industry announcements

Upcoming events

Africa Tech Festival 2024
November 11-14, 2024
Cape Town, South Africa
More Upcoming events

Africa Tech Perspectives

Story

Uber's Marjorie Saint-Lot on inclusion and sustainability in Africa

Uber's Country Manager for Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, Marjorie Saint-Lot, shares how the ride-hailing company is approaching public-private partnerships, environmentally friendly initiatives and gender inclusion in Africa.

Story

The 100 most influential African leaders in 2023

A new report from Africa Tech Festival and Connecting Africa puts a spotlight on the top 100 African leaders in the telecoms and technology sector in 2023.

Story

Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

New survey reveals a lack of access to investors, reliance on international VCs and global recession trends as the biggest barriers for East African tech startups to access funds.

More Africa Tech perspectives

Guest Perspectives

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

Story

Omdia View: January 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in January 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included a $200 million fintech deal between MTN and Mastercard as well as 5G network trials by Telecom Egypt – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

More Guest Perspectives

Like us on Facebook

Newsletter Sign Up


Sign Up
Tag id test-002