Telkom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with its partners Ericsson, a network and telecommunications business, and NEC XON, a systems integrator, to add an additional 2,000 locations to Telkom’s network by 2023.
The nationwide rollout is part of Telkom’s long-term network expansion strategy, which was announced in August of last year, when the company underwent a strategic reorganization to address the digital transformation underway and lay the groundwork for the company’s long-term goal of becoming Kenya’s and the region’s technology partner of choice.
Telkom has been examining its long-term strategy as it enters the next phase of transformation in line with its emphasis areas, which is being pushed by the ICT industry’s local and worldwide transformations, and in particular, a heightened demand for infrastructure, data, and digital financial services. Fiber infrastructure, mobile network, and mobile banking services are all areas where the company plans to invest and grow this year and beyond. Telkom is currently updating and growing its 4G capacity in the Coast region to achieve this goal.
“Two of our commitments are to better position our infrastructure asset base and services to drive digital transformation within our various Customer segments thus providing them with more value, as well as bridge the digital divide through the expansion of our Mobile Data network. We are already working on the upgrade and expansion of our network at the Coast. The partnership we have signed today will see Telkom and our partners kick off a new network expansion project, guided by our long-term growth strategy.” Telkom CEO Mugo Kibati said.
“Data is a fundamental human right and for us at Telkom. It is now emerging as a daily necessity. The customer is also demanding more competitive and comprehensive products that address their different and ever-changing needs: browsing, downloading, streaming, mobile money transactions, reading the news online, and updating their apps; actions that are now very important to everyday life. The development of new products and solutions such as Madaraka Life, but more importantly, the provision of the network needed to access these services, is a priority for us at Telkom.” he added.
Mr. Willem, the General Manager of NEC XON, stated that they are aiding Telkom in deploying a leading, resilient 4G network with a future-proof foundation in order to support their strategic vision of competing as one of the top East African service providers.
“Telkom and Ericsson have a close, collaborative and visionary relationship spanning many years. Our latest collaboration will increase mobile coverage across the country, to provide a seamless data experience to Kenyans. In line with Kenya’s Vision 2030, more people will have access to affordable Internet that will enable business continuity for people and enterprises contributing to the economic growth in Kenya and in setting #AfricaInMotion. This is just the beginning, with the LTE expansion setting the foundation to deploy 5G in the future.” said Mr. Todd Ashton, the Vice President and Managing Director of Ericsson South and East Africa.
Telkom will also connect over 200 learning institutions and over 30 medical facilities to the Internet as part of this network expansion, enhancing the use of remote learning and e-health solutions.
