Kenya Power intends to link millions of rural consumers to high-speed Internet as part of a new strategy to capitalize on the country’s growing mobile data usage and generate new revenue streams.
The energy distributor has started leasing fibre-optic connections connecting to its transmission lines to Internet service providers, and this is a step forward.
Kenya Power announced that it will now specifically target rural clients to connect to the Internet, at a time when the country’s energy penetration has increased by connecting millions of new houses in rural areas to the national grid.
It will compete for Internet users against Telkom Kenya, Kenya Data Networks, Safaricom, Jamii Telecoms, AccessKenya, Essar Telecoms, and Wananchi Group, which have previously dominated the industry.
Kenya Power and Safaricom inked a 20-year lease deal in 2010 for the usage of a pair of fibre cables for $3.8 million (Sh421 million). It also signed five-year contracts for $3.6 million with telecom companies Wananchi Group and Jamii Telecommunications (Sh403 million).
The utility business stated, “The company’s vast fibre network currently supplies dark fibre services to the country’s major ISPs to support the supply of Internet services to the end buyer in the retail and enterprise segments across the country and neighboring countries.”
Kenya Power had 8,278,203 customers at the end of June 2021, indicating a large customer base.
The bulk of Kenya’s ISPs lack the ability to provide downstream clients with fiber optic bandwidth, allowing leeway for a few operators to take advantage of the situation and maintain high rates.
