Telkom Kenya has partnered with Ericsson and NEC XON to expand the companies’ 4G mobile network. Telkom aims to invest nearly $100 million to deploy 2,000 telecom sites across the country by 2023.
Mugo Kibati, CEO, Telkom Kenya, explained that, “two of our commitments are to better position infrastructure asset base and services to drive digital transformation within various customer segments thus providing them with more value, as well as bridge the digital divide through the expansion of mobile data networks [..] We are already working on the upgrade and expansion of our network at the Coast. The partnership we have signed today will see Telkom and our partners kick off a new network expansion project, guided by our long-term growth strategy.”
The new investment by Telkom Kenya aligns with its strategic direction that was announced in August 2020 and seeks to transform the company into an integrated telecom company and a tech company of the future. It focuses on four key areas “to better position our infrastructure assets and services, to drive digital transformation within the Consumer, SME, Corporate and Public sectors to enable them to become smart entities. In addition, to create a future smart landing hub for the majority of submarine cables in the region as we continue to provide connectivity to all data entering and exiting Kenya; bridging the consumer digital divide - connecting the unconnected through the expansion of our 4G/LTE network, as well as through cutting-edge technologies such as Loon; up-skilling our employees to be future-fit, to serve the evolving needs of our customers.”
Kibati explained that Telkom Kenya is expanding its network so that all Kenyans can have access to “more competitive and comprehensive products that meet their different and evolving needs: browsing, downloading, streaming, mobile money transactions, reading online news, and updating their applications.”