Safaricom excites market with double-speed Internet

By Patrick Githinji

Integrated mobile phone service provider Safaricom has doubled Internet speeds on it 3G network.

The pace was upgraded to 21Mbps, and will be delivered through a Huawei Modem, which will retail at Sh9,999.

“We understand the huge potential of the Internet as a tool that can bring about massive improvements in education, entertainment, health service provision and agriculture,” says Safaricom’s Chief ExecutiveBob Collymore.

“We want to make Internet service accessible to as many Kenyans as possible.”

Last year, Safaricom began a technical trial of the 4G technology on its network.

The launch of high Internet speed has been propelled by the firm Sh80 million upgrade of the 3G network in Nairobi data belt.

The belt is an area served by 80, 3G base stations covering Lang’ata, Lavington, Westlands, Upperhill, South C, South B and parts of Industrial Area, which traditionally have high internet usage.

Planned expansion

Before the upgrade, the maximum speeds for a subscriber was at 7.2 Mbps while the maximum capability of a 3G base station was 14 Mbps.

Following the latest upgrade, which cost about Sh1 million per site, the user experience in terms of Internet speeds is expected to at least double.

Average user Internet speed is currently between 700 Kbps to 1.5 Mbps during busy hours.

With the upgrade and using a high-speed modem, which are now available at Safaricom Shops, the user will now enjoy average speeds of between 2.5 and 3 Mbps during peak hours.

Safaricom plans to further extend the data upgrade to the rest of Nairobi with another 50 sites earmarked for an identical revamp in the next three months before the programme is taken to the rest of Nairobi and other key towns.