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From left- Safaricom limited Chief Technology Officer Thibaud Rerolle, CEO, Bob Collymore and Huawei Kenya CEO Dean Yu during the launch of the 4G LTE technology at the village market in Nairobi on December 4, 2014. Safaricom customers will soon be able to watch TV online, make video calls and download content more easily, after the company Thursday launched its 4G network. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU

Online TV and video calls a reality as Safaricom launches 4G network

Safaricom customers will soon be able to watch TV online, make video calls and download content more easily, after the company Thursday launched its 4G network.

The fourth generation network (4G) is the most modern mobile technology and offers super-fast Internet speeds.

Safaricom said the development is in line with its growth strategy, which is anchored on non-voice services such as data and mobile money.

It is expected that the new technology, which the company has been testing over the past two years, will more than double the browsing speeds on the Safaricom network and make it easier for users perform advanced tasks such as video-conferencing.

With 4G, users can stream music, watch online videos such as YouTube and watch television shows online without interruption.

 

EXPANSION PLANS

“We are talking about a network that enables you to download a full movie in high definition in seconds,” said Safaricom chief executive Bob Collymore. Safaricom will be using the frequency spectrum it acquired through the purchase of Essar’s yuMobile earlier in the year.

It is also banking on allocation of additional spectrum following the signing of its national security contract with the government.

In the deal, Safaricom is to build a Sh15 billion communication network for the Kenya Police.

The company is to raise the whole amount and build the system at cost, with the government to reimburse the money first by allocating Safaricom spectrum worth about Sh7.5 billion and then annual installments, beginning two years after the work is completed.

Mr Collymore said the company had already paid for spectrum to the Communications Authority of Kenya. The money will be refunded through the National Treasury next year.

The network is already in use in 16 selected sites in Nairobi and five in Mombasa where the tests have been running.

The company plans to have the network live in at least 15 counties in the next one year, and in the whole country in three years.

Mr Collymore said the company was targeting public places and institutions such as schools, health facilities, airports and cities to be its first customers since the network offers a much wider coverage than other systems such as Wi-Fi.

“It was our promise to provide free high-speed connectivity to all public schools where the government provides gadgets as was envisioned in the laptops project. This puts us in a better position to do that as well as reach out to mass consumers of data,” Mr Collymore said.

 

Credit: Daily Nation   

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