Topic: Kenya ready to roll out $ 500 million high-speed 4G network by 2013

NAIROBI: Kenya aims to roll out a
high-speed fourth-generation (4G)
mobile data services network by
2013, at an estimated cost of $500
million, to meet growing demand
for wireless access to the internet
in East Africa's largest economy.
Bitange Ndemo, permanent
secretary at the ministry of
information and communication,
told Reuters that all Kenyan mobile
phone firms had signed up to the
new project and it was now
awaiting approval from the ministry
of finance.
"We need to have it (the network)
before the next elections (due in
March 2013). That is what we are
targeting," he said late Thursday on
the sidelines of a US-Kenya
conference on infrastructure
projects.
So-called 4G LTE (long term
evolution) networks promise
download speeds more than five
times those of 3G and are designed
for data, rather than voice, as well
as supporting high-definition video
conferencing.
Data is seen as a major growth area
in the telecoms sector, prompting
firms to invest heavily to offset the
impact of falling voice revenues on
the back of a price war.
At present, Safaricom, 40 percent
owned by Britain's Vodafone, is the
only network in Kenya to have fully
rolled out a 3G network across the
country and is already testing the
LTE technology at five sites.
Other firms with 3G licenses are
Telkom Kenya, controlled by France
Telecom's Orange, and the Kenyan
unit of India's Bharti Airtel. Both
Orange and Airtel are in the
process of rolling out 3G networks
countrywide.
The first phase would involve
rolling out the 4G network to the
country's 47 counties at a cost of $
100 million, a figure that would rise
further in the next phase that
would see the new service
connected to the entire country's
network.
"We have finished with the study.
We have sent it to the Ministry of
Finance. We are just waiting for the
approval and then we hit the road,"
Ndemo said.
"Phase one... we will go to the
counties, and leveraging on the
existing base stations, but by the
time we cover everywhere it would
be even up to $500 million," he
said.
Mobile carriers worldwide are
increasingly upgrading to LTE
networks that support high-speed
wireless services as consumers
use tablet computers and
smartphones to surf the web.
In September, the ministry said
potential investors should have at
least a 20 percent Kenyan
shareholding and the financial and
technical capability to roll out
commercial services to the
country's 47 counties within a year
of forming a partnership with the
government.
Mobile phone users in the country
of 40 million people grew by 12.5
percent to 28.1 million in the last
quarter of 2011.
Internet users nearly doubled to
17.4 million in the period, thanks
to an increase in mobile phone
subscriptions, the industry
regulator said.
Safaricom said it was looking to
increase performance of its data
segment through increased
investments in fiber during the
release of its 2011 results last
week.
Ndemo said once the 4G project
got a green light, it would take six
to seven months to be rolled-out
countywide. The government's plan
is to give the 4G spectrum to
operators, and for the companies
to fund network deployment.
The second phase of the project
would involve connecting all the
country's mobile phone base
stations to fiber optic cable. In
addition to the mobile operators,
data network operators and
equipment suppliers would take
part in the project.
"It's an open access model. We
can't set it (the special purpose
vehicle for delivering the project)
up until we get the approval from
Treasury. They can take one month,
or two months. But it's going to be
very soon," Ndemo said.
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By simplemind

Data transmission grows by leaps and bounds hence need for robust efficient data networks. M pesa imeshika kweli Kenya, Huduma nyingi unalipia kupitia m pesa, umeme,maji, bill supermarket, mutu ya mkono(vibarua wa mjengo), kinyozi etc. Hivi majuzi mfumo wa kuhamisha pesa kutoka benki account yako hadi m pesa account yako umezinduliwa .yote haya ni data transmission.

Not just in Kenya, kila mahali, from Lagos to durban m-pesa is african answer to plastic card (debit card). Remember sharaholders was hizi telecoms ni wale wale, if they are doing something in Kenya they doing it everywhere they operate.

By FJM

Kwenye red: I wish ungekuwepo wakati team ya Rwanda imekuja Tanzania. They could not believe it walipopewa facts na wakalinganisha na jirani. Kagame habahatishi na sasa hivi TTCL wako kazini Kigali. Tatizo letu I must admit, hatupigi kelele na kuweka every details before the god's panel. Hapo pa kupiga kelele nawapa 5 Kenya. Nirudie, Tanzania ICT iko swafi, hutaji jingonge!

FJM, samahani nilikuwepo safarini kidogo. Hatujitupi mbele ya god's panel. Lakini wakati wajenzi na wapangaji wetu wa miradi hizi wanapojitia kijasho na kusistiza mpaka kwa vyombo vya habari, planners kutoka kote ulimwenguni na barani huweka msimamo kuwa efforts zinazowekwa na local planners are below standard. Na hii ni njia mojawapo zinazotumika na independent planners and consultants waki collude na international media houses kupotosha ulimwengu kuhusu kutokuwa na miradi kama hizi. Au utakuta miradi zinapotaka anzishwa, consultants watasema Afrika maskini huenda wasimalize huku wakizitaja kama "white elephants" I must say kama waafrika we have done well. Taratibu ndio mwendo.

By simplemind

Data transmission grows by leaps and bounds hence need for robust efficient data networks. M pesa imeshika kweli Kenya, Huduma nyingi unalipia kupitia m pesa, umeme,maji, bill supermarket, mutu ya mkono(vibarua wa mjengo), kinyozi etc. Hivi majuzi mfumo wa kuhamisha pesa kutoka benki account yako hadi m pesa account yako umezinduliwa .yote haya ni data transmission.

Nilikuwa namskiza Bob Collimore mkurugenzi mkuu wa safaricom akisimulia jinsi ambavyo kuweka mpesa kwenya ramani ambapo ilipo ilikuwa ni vita kati yao na mabanki. Ikiwa makampuni mengine Afrika yataweka huu mtandao wa mpesa, lazima kuingia kupigana.

By livefire

bukyagandi am no IT expert, likewise to certified as his name tells alot about his intellectual background. However its obvious theres a relationship between good internet service and Mpesa service delivery.
Read this pluck, trying to cut the impasse between you two:
Hosting M-Pesa servers locally should also
eliminate disruptions that occur whenever
the undersea fibre optic cable is damaged
and reduce the time taken to restore the
system in the event of such a damage.
Safaricom has in the past three weeks been
forced to reroute its international traffic to
satellite platform after its main link to the
global network of highspeed Internet, the
TEAMs cable was damaged in deep sea.
Safaricom has a 22.5 stake in TEAMs and
uses the bandwidth to connect to other
parts of the world including Germany where
the M-Pesa servers are currently hosted.

Regardless to their allegiances operators should learn that relying on a single optical fiber marine cable is not healthy for their businesses. What could be lost if Safaricom uses other optic fiber marine cables as a backup instead of falling back on the expensive satellites..

By livefire

bukyagandi am no IT expert, likewise to certified as his name tells alot about his intellectual background. However its obvious theres a relationship between good internet service and Mpesa service delivery.
Read this pluck, trying to cut the impasse between you two:
Hosting M-Pesa servers locally should also
eliminate disruptions that occur whenever
the undersea fibre optic cable is damaged
and reduce the time taken to restore the
system in the event of such a damage.
Safaricom has in the past three weeks been
forced to reroute its international traffic to
satellite platform after its main link to the
global network of highspeed Internet, the
TEAMs cable was damaged in deep sea.
Safaricom has a 22.5 stake in TEAMs and
uses the bandwidth to connect to other
parts of the world including Germany where
the M-Pesa servers are currently hosted.

I thought m-pesa is hosted by rackspace - UK?

By Bukyanagandi

Mkuu, nakuomba usome vizuri nilicho andika humu husikurupukie MAMBO, mimi sijuhi ulewa wako katika fani ya communication ni wa kiwango gani! Kwani M-Pesa inahitaji kitu gani kuwasiliana na simu nyingine, can you send M-PESA raw!!!!! Hamna popote humu nimesema M-Pesa haitaji mawasiliano. Kwani kwa mawazo yako unafikili M-Pesa ina-occupy slot gani katika seven OSI layers ? Don't try to be bigger than your HEAD, sorry.

By Certified

Boss!! Let's keep things simple. You said that mpesa is not a part of ICT. You went further and said ICT encompasses only data communications. Explain to me like a two year old why you said that and I will come up with my remarks on the same. Wow!! Ati you can't send mpesa raw!!! Have come across the term electronic cash.

I have been following this interesting discussion of yours and i have to admit that both of you are talking about same thing without really knowing/acknowledging you just do that...

Ok, lets just to take this to the next level, i have attached this picture of mine which depicts the client-server like protocols interaction within a mobile data network (Typical a 3G network/packet-switched). Mpesa is not a really packet-switched based mobile data service it is actually a circuit-switched based mobile data service. Thats why it runs even on old black&white/dumb mobile phones. Having said that, however, most data-based mobile services including your Mpesa follows similar encapsulation.

By FJM

I thought m-pesa is hosted by rackspace - UK?

they are hosted in germany, a simple google search would yield multiple sources on the same too.

By livefire

they are hosted in germany, a simple google search would yield multiple sources on the same too.

Vodafone Money Transfer | Rackspace UK

Rackspace are located near Heathrow. I was there a few weeks ago so I know what I am talking about. Sasa click hiyo link. Maybe next time you should look beyond google!

By FJM

Vodafone Money Transfer | Rackspace UK

Rackspace are located near Heathrow. I was there a few weeks ago so I know what I am talking about. Sasa click hiyo link. Maybe next time you should look beyond google!

good to know you travel wide but i insist Mpesa servers are in germany. Credible link by the way, al post mine in a bit. FJM take it from a Kenyan....Bob collymore knows what he talks. I presume vodafone is just playing politics here as they have always wanted to own MPESA exclusively.

By livefire

good to know you travel wide but i insist Mpesa servers are in germany. Credible link by the way, al post mine in a bit. FJM take it from a Kenyan....Bob collymore knows what he talks. I presume vodafone is just playing politics here as they have always wanted to own MPESA exclusively.

Livefire, I am tellling you I know where those bloody servers but wewe unang'ang'ania Germany. Germany ipi, ya SW? Danka Danka. What if I tell you I even have mobile phone numbers of the guys directly involved in managing m-pesa account? As we speak m-pesa is thier biggest client! and look at the aggressiveness from Vodafone after m-pesa!

FJM with utmost respect, take my words kindly. Read and make conclusions on your own. Thank you!!
Yesterday evening I had an opportunity to have a four hours chat with Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore. He talked about the company, milestones, challenges and what the future holds for the company.
For computer geeks, Safaricom is planning to introduce an M-pesa API after it successfully transfers the M-pesa servers to Kenya. The servers are currently in Germany and mirrored in UK. This might take long but lets hope its
Rodgers Andati's Blog
Kenya
M-Pesa

hope it satisfies u now. I am being kiind with words and not insisting for no show.

By livefire

FJM with utmost respect, take my words kindly. Read and make conclusions on your own. Thank you!!
Yesterday evening I had an opportunity to have a four hours chat with Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore. He talked about the company, milestones, challenges and what the future holds for the company.
For computer geeks, Safaricom is planning to introduce an M-pesa API after it successfully transfers the M-pesa servers to Kenya. The servers are currently in Germany and mirrored in UK. This might take long but lets hope its
Rodgers Andati's Blog
Kenya
M-Pesa

hope it satisfies u now. I am being kiind with words and not insisting for no show.

Again, both of you might be right, kwa sababu kama unafanya biashara ya ki-Dunia kwenye Internet huwezi weka Servers
zako zote mahala pamoja (mfano mzuri ni Google, Microsoft, na Fcebook). kuna mambo ya load-balancing etc. etc..

Pili, suala la access kwenye APIs sioni kwanini eti mpaka hapo hapo Server zitakopuwa kenya ndio watu/developers waanze kuzifanyia kazi. Kwani kunatatizo gani developers ku-pewa access kwenye APIs hata kama Servers haziko Kenya?. Hivi unajua kwamba we have access kwenye APIs za kampuni kama Apple na wengineo wakubwa wakati hata Servers zao haziko hosted kwenye nchi tunazoishi?

Hivi kwanini Kenya inaitazama Tanzania kwa uoga?

By Pharaoh

Hivi kwanini Kenya inaitazama Tanzania kwa uoga?

Tanzania sio Uganda, Burundi au Rwanda...

By eliakeem

Bora hizi pesa zingeenda kwa watu wenye njaa ambao wanazungumziwa hapa chini.
You Missed This: Poor Sad Kenyans Nailed on the Cross

pooooh, dude, poor reasoning. how does that improve their welfare.

By shytnis

pooooh, dude, poor reasoning. how does that improve their welfare.

Why you refer it as poor reasoning!!!!!!!

By eliakeem

Why you refer it as poor reasoning!!!!!!!

cause if that's how things are done, we will actually never get ourselves out of the abject poverty. just that.

By shytnis

cause if that's how things are done, we will actually never get ourselves out of the abject poverty. just that.

So now you will be out of the vicious circle of poverty soon....... My opinion.... just apply a basic economics scale of preferences........ i.e by the moment what is a pressing need.... internet or food.....

By eliakeem

So now you will be out of the vicious circle of poverty soon....... My opinion.... just apply a basic economics scale of preferences........ i.e by the moment what is a pressing need.... internet or food.....

the subject of preferences is mostly microeconomic, when it comes to the national economy, I'd rather say the main objective is development and eradication of poverty, which cannot be solved by applying short-term measures that cater for the "pressing need" which in turn arises every season without a stable economic base.

By eliakeem

So now you will be out of the vicious circle of poverty soon....... My opinion.... just apply a basic economics scale of preferences........ i.e by the moment what is a pressing need.... internet or food.....

the subject of preferences is mostly microeconomic, when it comes to the national economy, I'd rather say the main objective is development and eradication of poverty, which cannot be solved by applying short-term measures that cater for the "pressing need" which in turn arises every season without a stable economic base.
p.s. about the vicious circle - I'm optimistic