Kenyan fixed and mobile operator Safaricom has announced that it has deployed more than 5,000km of fibre-optic cabling, passing some 141,000 Kenyan households in the process.
The company, which established its consumer broadband unit in May 2017, says it has already hooked up 53,000 homes within its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) footprint to date, up from 28,000 homes connected (of 91,000 passed) in November 2017. Safaricom’s home fibre internet network currently covers six towns countrywide and has reached over 20 estates within Nairobi including South B, Pangani, Syokimau in Machakos County, Kitengela, Ngong and Ongata Rongai in Kajiado County. It is also available in Mombasa’s Nyali and Bamburi neighbourhoods, parts of Kisumu, Eldoret and Thika towns. Furthermore, Safaricom says it has also connected 15,000 business users to direct fibre services, according to its latest financial results document. Safaricom Chief Financial Officer Sateesh Kamath added that the operator has so far connected 1,800 commercial buildings with fibre broadband.