Kenya is confident that achieving the ambitious goal of deploying 100,000 kilometers of optical fiber to underserved areas within five years is now feasible within the next two years.
This shift comes as the government moves away from the traditional method of laying cables underground and instead opts to utilize the existing infrastructure of the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) parastatal, with fiber cables running alongside power lines.
Eliud Owalo, the Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy, highlighted this strategy shift. He emphasized that leveraging the KPLC’s infrastructure will expedite the fiber rollout process, potentially achieving the target ahead of schedule. Additionally, Owalo revealed that 10,000 kilometers of fiber has already been laid since the resumption of the rollout last year, with Nia Fibre contracted by the government for this purpose.
Furthermore, the government has initiated plans to deploy 25,000 WiFi hotspots nationwide, focusing initially on markets and bus terminals to transform them into digital marketplaces and enhance connectivity for traders and entrepreneurs.
