Safaricom To Increase 5G Sites In Kenya To 200

Kenya’s giant telco, Safaricom is set to increase its 5G sites in Kenya to 200 by the end of the year. The company is also set to commercialize the same in 2022. In March this year, Safaricom launched  5G technology with 15 sites across major towns.

“This year is a trial phase and we intend to have 150 to 200 sites coming from the first use case of homes, especially in places where we do not have fiber,” said Mr. Peter Ndegwa, the CEO of Safaricom.

Major urban centers currently covered with 5G network by Safaricom include; Nairobi, Kisumu, Kisii, and Kakamega, all of which routinely witness increased data traffic.

However, a majority of Kenyans are still using 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. At the end of March, Safaricom had 5,526 2G base stations and 5,500 for 3G. Its 4G base stations grew 24.1 percent to 5,387.

Read More: Sub-Saharan Africa To Reach 70 Million 5G Subscriptions By 2026

Both Safaricom and its closest rival Airtel Kenya are in the race for the superfast Internet, with priority given to urban centers such as Nairobi.

Kenya became the second country in Africa to roll out a commercial 5G network. The network is set to improve customer experience with super high-speed internet, low latency, and massive connectivity.

People may be confused about what 5G can do, but when 4G first arrived about 10 years ago, no one could imagine that 4G would give birth to the mobile internet era.

The future development of 5G will not be limited to mobile communication technology; it will grow into a technology platform or technology base that will merge and resonate with cutting-edge technologies including AI and cloud.

5G will develop and change in ways beyond imagination and provide countless possible technological futures.

Read More: The 5G Network Slowly Gains Momentum In Kenya

At the same time, Ericsson projects that 5G mobile subscriptions will exceed 580 million by the end of 2021, driven by an estimated one million new 5G mobile subscriptions every day.