Kenyan telecommunications services provider Safaricom has partnered with the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) in an initiative to improve service delivery to customers along the East African country's coastal region.
In a statement Safaricom says it will lease two of KETRACO's fibres in each of the 47km 132kV Rabai – Galu and 320km 220kV Rabai – Malindi – Garsen – Lamu transmission lines for 5 years, to provide a more resilient network in both North and South Coast regions.
"This partnership is part of our effort build the Best Network in Kenya. This financial year we have set aside in excess of Kshs. 33.7 billion in ensuring that we not only extend our 3G and 4G footprint, but also to fix any outstanding issues in our network," said Bob Collymore, chief executive officer of Safaricom.
According to the telco the investment also opens up Safaricom's wholesale business to opportunities that will be presented by the Kes. 1.5 trillion Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSET) project.
Collymore said, "The additional capacity also complements our more than 2,000 kilometre fibre capacity that has enabled us offer more reliable integrated services across the country. As we speak, more than 30% of our base stations are connected to the fibre."
KETRACO was granted a Network Facility Provider Tier 2 (NFPT2) License by Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) in 2014, allowing it to lease out fibre to licensed Application and Content Service Providers as a way of diversifying the company's revenue base.
"KETRACO's completed transmission lines are traversing the whole country and the region and this will connect the Company's fibre to the national fibre backbone creating a resilient web with sufficient protection. In return, licensed service providers will benefit from reliable service with less latency,'' said Fernandes Barasa, managing director, KETRACO.
Currently, the Kenyan electricity transmission company is implementing various projects comprising of approximately 3,256km electricity transmission lines- with concurrent fibre connectivity. The major projects include the 400kV Mombasa- Nairobi, 220kV Olkaria- Suswa transmission lines.
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