Kenya's Safaricom targets more fixed Internet users with 5G network - Yahoo! Voices

By Ayenat Mersie

(Reuters) - Kenya's largest telecoms relation Safaricom launched its 5G high-speed net work connected Thursday, becoming the archetypal steadfast to deploy the exertion commercially successful East Africa.

The company, whose net proviso concern is 1 of its fastest growing, uses instrumentality from Nokia (NOKIA.HE) and Huawei to powerfulness its 5G network.

Safaricom, which is part-owned by South Africa's Vodacom and Britain's Vodafone, is initially offering Wi-Fi subscriptions archetypal arsenic it attempts to triumph a greater stock of the fixed information market.

"We... presumption 5G arsenic being captious successful delivering caller solutions that volition code economical development, healthcare, manufacturing, infrastructure and adjacent transportation of authorities services," said Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa astatine a motorboat ceremonial for the network.

While Safaricom dominates the mobile information marketplace - commanding astir a 65% stock - it holds lone astir a 3rd of the fixed information market, information from the Communications Authority of Kenya showed.

Besides the Wi-Fi marketplace opportunity, the archetypal absorption connected 5G Wi-Fi alternatively than mobile is due to the fact that determination are inactive comparatively fewer 5G-compatible devices successful Kenya, the institution said.

Out of astir 27 cardinal smartphones successful usage successful Kenya, Ndegwa said lone astir 200,000 are 5G-compatible due to the fact that of the precocious costs of specified devices.

But prices are coming down rapidly and companies specified arsenic Safaricom are expanding their financing models which should grow access, helium said astatine the launch.

Customers with compatible phones would nevertheless beryllium capable to usage the web soon, the institution said, erstwhile it starts selling 5G information packages.

The steadfast has 35 progressive 5G sites successful Nairobi and different large cities and it plans to summation that fig to 200 by March adjacent year. It started investigating the web past year.

The United States authorities has urged countries not to see Huawei successful their 5G plans, citing information concerns which Huawei has denied.

(Reporting by Ayenat Mersie; editing by Hereward Holland and Jason Neely)