[kictanet] LTE/4G and the state of broadband and Universal Access in Kenya

[Mwendwa Kivuva]

On 9 December 2014 at 12:48, Walubengo J via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Adam good thoughts..especially
>
> ****"If Safaricom can sell LTE to the 1% and that makes enough money to
> pay well for the spectrum license and GoK then uses that money for the USF
> to build 3G towers in rural areas - then that's really great".
>
> *But then again Safcom is not a charity organisation and may rather pay
> out the profits to the shareholders (like me :-) rather than build extra
> 3G towers to remote non economic zones in Kenya.*
>



With USF, Safaricom does not have an option on how the funds will be used.
Does it? Therefore more profits means more funds to the USF kitty, and the
posibility of 3G in Nyando and Isiolo.



> then
> ***"4G/LTE deployments aren't really that much more expensive than 3G as I
> understand it."
> *I dont have the actual costs, but the fact is 4G/LTE base stations have a
> small footprint/radius compared to 3G, so you will require more base
> stations to cover larger areas/populations. More base stations more money
> hence the cost of service to the customer can only be higher.*
>
> *** The big difference is the 'cost' of the spectrum - which is whatever
> the market will bear.
> actually cost of spectrum will be decided/or has been decided by the
> Regulator. But the point is, even if it was given away for free, or through
> trading there is no guarantee that the benefit will not be translated to
> the consumer.
>
>
> *In summary, I guess my beef is not against the LTE technology( it is
> good, it is inevitable and it will be deployed).  My point is that it will
> not address the high cost of communication and is not likely to address the
> bigger picture (getting everyone online).  *
>
> *And yes, that is not Safaricom's problem but the Regulators problem. *
>

This is a very important point Walu, In the National Broadband Stategy (
http://ca.go.ke/images//downloads/PUBLICATIONS/NATIONAL%20BROADBAND%20STRATEGY/National%20Broadband%20Strategy.pdf),
the Government has a plans phased between 2013 - 2017, 2018-2022,
2023-2027, and 2028-2030 with envisaged maximum speeds in rural areas at
500Mbps and 2Gbps in Urban areas. By 2017, the target is 100% connectivity
of all Schools and Healthcare facilities with at least 5Mbps. That is only
3 years from now. I don't see how we will achieve this without proper
coordination and organisation. But if we implement the National broadband
strategy to the letter, then we will achieve Universal Access. On whose
side are you willing to place the bet?

Regards

______________________
Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
T: twitter.com/lordmwesh
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