[kictanet] KENYA POWER - The Answer to Universal Connectivity for all?

[Ali Hussein]

Listers

KenyaPower earned Kshs 1 billion last year through leasing dark fibre to telcos. A nice little side business.

Does Kenya Power have the capacity and bandwidth (pun intended) to execute this widely? A Senior Manager is on record saying:-

“If we were to reach 2 million homes and charge only Sh500 per house, this would be Sh50 billion per month. So, that is where the potential is,” Kenya Power’s chief manager for information technology and telecommunications, Samuel Ndirangu, said.

The power distributor’s acting managing director said the firm is now focusing on expanding and leasing fibre optic to its client list in a bid to diversify revenues.

Question: I have absolutely no problem with Kenya Power 'dabbling' in Internet service provision. I would however caution this new 'focus' on connectivity when only 20% of Kenyans have access to electricity in the main centres and less than 10% n some rural areas. 

Unless of course we are starting to see the emergence of what this list has all along advocated:- the consolidation of fibre optic cable across the country with all players having a stake in the role out to ensure cheaper and widely more accessible high speed internet connectivity. If this is the case the I'm all for it...

http://www.nation.co.ke/business/Kenya-Power-to-lay-to-fibre-optic-cables-to-boost-revenue/-/996/2028888/-/fdmanpz/-/index.html

Ali Hussein

+254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113

"Kujikwaa si kuanguka, bali ni kwenda mbele" (To stumble is not to fall but a sign of going forward) - Swahili Proverb

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