Telkom Kenya − the Helios Investment Partners and Government of Kenya joint venture − has signed a memorandum of understanding with telco Ericsson and system integrator NEC XON, to add 2 000 wireless sites to its network by 2023.
The approximately $100 million nationwide rollout is part of Telkom Kenya’s long-term network expansion strategy announced in August last year, when it began its strategic digital transformation reorganisation.
The network expansion with Ericsson and NEC XON will also see Telkom Kenya connect more than 200 learning institutions and over 30 medical facilities to the internet, boosting the use of remote learning and e-health solutions.
“One of the other positive outcomes of this network expansion project is the opportunity it presents to our existing teams; to up-skill and get trained on the latest technology and global best practice in the sector,” says Mugo Kibati, CEO of Telkom Kenya.
Ericsson and NEC XON are based in South Africa, and many South African skilled resources will work with their Kenyan colleagues to transfer skills and collaborate to deploy and maintain the solution.
Telkom Kenya has been reviewing its long-term strategy as it moves into its next phase of transformation. It identified its fibre infrastructure, mobile network and mobile financial services as areas for further investment and growth this year and beyond.
“Two of our commitments are to better position our infrastructure asset base and services to drive digital transformation within our various customer segments, thus providing them with more value, as well as bridge the digital divide through the expansion of our mobile data network,” says Kibati.
“We are already working on the upgrade and expansion of our network at the coast. The partnership we have signed will see Telkom Kenya and our partners kick off a new network expansion project, guided by our long-term growth strategy.
“The use of mobile internet data continues to grow, with the customer demanding more competitive and comprehensive products that address their different and ever-changing needs: browsing, downloading, streaming, mobile money transactions, reading the news online and updating their apps; actions that are now very important to everyday life.
“The development of new products and solutions such as Madaraka Life, but more importantly, the provision of the network needed to access these services, is a priority for us at Telkom Kenya.”
Todd Ashton, VP and MD of Ericsson South and East Africa, says: “Telkom and Ericsson have a close, collaborative and visionary relationship spanning many years. Our latest collaboration will increase mobile coverage across the country, to provide a seamless data experience to Kenyans.
“In line with Kenya’s Vision 2030, more people will have access to affordable internet that will enable business continuity for people and enterprises contributing to the economic growth in Kenya and in setting #AfricaInMotion. This is just the beginning, with the LTE expansion setting the foundation to deploy 5G in the future.”
Willem Wentzel, GM of wireless at NEC XON, adds: “We are assisting Telkom Kenya to roll out a leading, robust 4G network with a future-proof foundation to enable their strategic vision to compete as one of the major East African service providers. The rollout augments Telkom’s existing network infrastructure by delivering world-class quality of experience to more customers across a much wider coverage area.”
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