What Did Communication Authority Achieve In The Phase I Of USF?

The Communication Authority is rolling out the second phase of the Universal Service Fund (USF). The second phase is hitting the ground in West Pokot, once again giving Kenyans an opportunity to be part of the inclusion in the ever-evolving tech world.

The Authority has since accomplished the first phase with great milestones having been met. As the world changes in terms of technology, Kenya, through the Communication Authority, has been in a marathon to keep up with the fast-changing trends.

During the first phase, the Authority connected 884 public secondary schools across 47 Counties to high-speed Internet. With the connection, it meant that the schools, that were initially isolated from the rest of the world, are now able to know what is happening and enable students to carry out research and connect with others within and without the country to exchange ideas.

Seven of 884 schools that were connected during the first phase are in West Pokot County. They are St. Elizabeth Girls Morpus, St. Theresa’s Tartar Girls, Kapenguria Boys, St. Cecilia Chepareria, St, Comboni Amakuriat, Nasokol Girls, and Holy Cross Boys Secondary School.

The Authority also undertook an exercise in mobile connectivity across the country. This was meant to connect more Kenyans to the internet and ICT services, ones that they did not have before.

As a result, in the mobile connectivity, the Authority connected 78 Sub locations, covering 330,342 people spread across 15 counties in Kenya in Phase I of USF. Five of these sub-locations are in West Pokot County.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) is the regulatory authority for the ICT industry in Kenya with responsibilities in telecommunications, e-commerce, broadcasting, postal/courier services, and cyber security.

CA is also responsible for managing the country’s numbering and frequency spectrum resources, administering the Universal Service Fund (USF) as well as safeguarding the interests of consumers of ICT services.

The Authority, through the USF, has the mandate to enhance access to communications services in various parts of the country, especially in the un-served and underserved areas, which are mostly remote and hard to reach.