Telkom Kenya Limited, a Helios Investment Partners and Government of Kenya joint venture, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ericsson and NEC XON to add 2,000 wireless sites onto Telkom Kenya Limited’s network by 2023
Vice president and managing director of Ericsson South and East Africa, Todd Ashton, Telekom’s chief executive officer, Mugo Kibati, and NEC XON general manager of wireless, Willem Wentzel. (Image source: Telkom Kenya Limited)
The approximately US$100mn rollout is part of Telkom Kenya Limited’s long-term network expansion strategy. Telkom Kenya Limited has been reviewing its long-term strategy as it moves into its next phase of transformation in line with its focus areas, driven by the ICT industry’s local and global transitions, and in particular, a heightened demand for infrastructure, data, as well as digital financial services.
The company identified its fibre infrastructure, mobile network, as well as its mobile financial services as areas for further investment and growth this year and beyond.
Mugo Kibati, CEO of Telkom Kenya Limited, commented, “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. 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.”
He added, “The use of mobile Internet data continues to grow, with the customer demanding for 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.”
Todd Ashton, VP and MD of Ericsson South and East Africa, said, “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.”
This network expansion will also see Telkom connect more than 200 learning institutions as well as over 30 medical facilities to the Internet, thereby boosting the use of remote learning and e-health solutions.
