KPLC taps new revenues with fibre optic offer

“With this contract, vandalism could become a thing of the past. In the medium term, we see this agreement as pushing down cost in the telecoms market,” he said.

KPLC’s move could prove damaging for companies that have spent billions of shillings in building own fibre networks countrywide.

The list of losers includes the government that has spent billions on a national fibre network that it hopes will deliver the internet to the villages.

KPLC’s fibre is being deployed alongside its existing electricity transmission lines, making it more difficult for vandals to damage.

KPLC’s move also offers a lifeline to smaller companies that cannot compete in the crowded fibre infrastructure market by giving them a readymade network for lease.

That decision could have the domino effect of enabling those companies to offer significantly lower pricing for their services, setting the stage for a market-driven competition that yields price gains for consumers.

“This could be the catalyst that will drive prices down. Once the complexities of connectivity are cleared, players can concentrate on the provision of services rather than investing in infrastructure,” said Mr Joshua Chepkwony, the chairman of Jamii Telecom.

For Jamii, the match-up with KPLC means that they can now offer cross-country connectivity for their urban fibre rings in cities like Nairobi, Mombasa and Eldoret.

The impact of the KPLC deal could however be felt most at Wananchi, the triple play firm that has an elaborate metro network running power poles in a number of up market Nairobi estates such as Kilimani, and Kileleshwa.

The deal clears the way for the firm to overcome the long distance bandwidth delivery challenge and eases its entry into the data market.

By leveraging on Kenya Power’s fibre, Wananchi can deploy a ‘design unseen’ network in key urban areas that is aligned to the power firm’s presence.

“Our goal is to be everywhere KPLC is. For us the deal means that we can effectively provide seamless connectivity into homes,” said Euan Fannell, Wananchi Group CEO.

KPLC is betting on the fact that several ICT firms are wary of building own infrastructure because of the high cost involved in both construction and maintenance.

On Tuesday, KPLC announced that phase one of its fibre link - between Nairobi and Mombasa - is complete and that it will be rolling out its network to the western circuit through Nakuru and Eldoret to Tororo in Uganda as well as in the Mt Kenya region.

The company also plans to construct a metro ring in Nairobi, an area with about five fibre projects in operation.