Yesterday, Kenya Power revealed that it has plans to roll out its fixed internet service in Kenya next year. For most people, it might be confusing why the power distributing company is shifting to the internet business but it does make sense to some extent. The company has the necessary infrastructure across the country and getting started is not that difficult.
When launched, Kenya Power will be in direct competition with established industry players including Safaricom, Wananchi Group, Jamii Telecoms among others. The Communication Authority has previously said that Kenya’s fixed internet market is largely untapped and this is where Kenya Power sees opportunity to grow its revenue.
Kenya Power has not shared all the details but we do have some information regarding this service.
Launch by June 2023
Kenya Power acting Managing Director, Geoffrey Muli, said the company will launch the service before the current financial year ends. This means that the service will be launched by June 2023. “Our plan is to launch our Lit Fibre business in the course of this financial year,” Mr Muli said.
Already Piloting to corporate customers
Kenya Power has been working on this for some time getting things ready before the launch. The company says that it has been piloting the fixed internet service to some of its corporate customers for the past few months. This has set the perfect stage for the roll out of the service within the next 12 months.
7,000 KMs of fibre cables available
At the moment, Kenya Power has over 7,000 Kilometres of fibre cables attached to its power transmission line. The company will leverage this fibre cable network that it is currently leasing to ISPs.
Back in 2010, Kenya Power signed a 20-year lease agreement with Safaricom for the telco to use some of its fibre cables. The first has signed deals with Wananchi Group and Jamii Telcoms to also use its fibre cables.
Targeting Rural Kenya
Since Kenya Power has presence in most parts of the country, it will have a better chance of conquering rural Kenya, a part of the country most ISPs don’t invest heavily in.
Read: Telkom and PEACE Cable Company land a new submarine cable in Kenya
