Ratio Magazine :: The Inside Track to East Africa’s Economies - Kenya: Press Releases: Safaricom Increase Data Speeds for Nairobi Customers with KES80m Upgrade

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Kenya: Press Releases: Safaricom Increase Data Speeds for Nairobi Customers with KES80m Upgrade

Wednesday, 24 August 2011

Nairobi, 22 August 2011 --- Converged telecoms firm Safaricom’s subscribers will now access the internet at much faster speeds, following a KES80m upgrade of the operator’s 3G network in Nairobi.

Subscribers in the firm’s data belt, an area served by 80 3G base stations covering Langata, Lavington, Westlands, Upperhill, South C, South B and parts of Industrial Area, which traditionally show high internet usage, will now enjoy faster speeds that can potentially go up to 21mbps. Safaricom upgraded and has been testing its data network in these areas at for the last two weeks.

“We understand the huge potential of the internet as a tool that can bring about massive improvements in education, entertainment, health service provision, agriculture and other facets of life. At Safaricom, our aim is to ‘democratise’ the internet and bring it to as many Kenyans as possible. With the launch of this upgrade that allows for faster speeds, we are demonstrating true leadership in this quest,” said Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore.

Before the upgrade, the maximum speeds for a subscriber was at 7.2mbps while the maximum capability of a 3G base station was 14mbps. Following the latest upgrade, which cost about KES1m per site, the user experience in terms of internet speeds is expected to at least double. Average user internet speed is currently between 700kbps to 1.5mbps during busy hours.

With the upgrade and using a high speed modem, which are now available at Safaricom shops, the user will now enjoy average speeds of between 2.5 and 3mbps during peak hours and maximum speeds in excess of 17mbps off-peak, a massive improvement. It is important to note that actual speeds may not reach the maximum level as 3G is a shared resource and speeds are eventually dependant on usage levels at a given time.

Safaricom plans to further extend the data upgrade to the rest of Nairobi with another 50 sites earmarked for an identical revamp in the next three months before the programme is taken to the rest of Nairobi and other key towns in Kenya, starting with Mombasa.

Mr Collymore, who spoke during an experiential launch of the upgrade at the Michael Joseph Centre, noted that the move was a direct response to consumer concerns and promised that the firm would continue listening and acting upon user feedback.

The upgrade of Safaricom’s consumer data offering was accompanied by the introduction of new modems to support the speeds. The move further underlines Safaricom’s market leadership in the Kenyan data market. In addition to the high speeds, the modem also comes with a memory that can be expanded.

Safaricom was the first Kenyan operator to commercially launch a 3G network in October 2007, defying market convention and ensuring that its subscribers accessed high speed mobile data. The technology was initially available in and around Nairobi but was later rolled throughout the country within a year. Last week, the firm announced the installation of over 120 3G base stations in Western Kenya as part of an ongoing strategy to revamp its network capability in the region.

Safaricom has been actively investing in its 3G network, the only one in Kenya since it was launched. The network boasts the kind of wide reach and versatility that will ensure data customers take full advantage of the latest upgrade as the consumer data market continues to record rising demand. Through partnerships with manufacturers, Safaricom has sold over 500,000 data-enabled devices that include mobile handsets and modems and the results are already clear. Today, out of every 10 Kenyans who use the internet regularly, at least nine of them access it through the Safaricom network.

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