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Safaricom, Huawei eye homes in fibre Internet deal

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Safaricom staff displays Huawei phones in Nairobi. The two firms have inked a fibre Internet supply deal. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NMG

Safaricom #ticker:SCOM and Chinese tech firm Huawei have partnered to drive the telco’s expansion of fibre Internet to homes countrywide.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm will adopt Huawei’s end-to-end (E2E) solution and technologies to meet demand for Internet in residential buildings.

Safaricom, for instance, will now reduce the system integration period and complete deployment in three months, down from 18 months, with the help of Huawei’s lightweight mini operations support system.

Huawei smartphone app will also help the telco to integrate installation, maintenance, operations and support on-site service delivery besides improving efficiency.

“Emerging markets place strong demands on FTTH network services. The top challenge that operators face is shortening the return on investment period,” said Huawei’s Access Network Product Line president Jeff Wang in a statement.

“To solve this challenge, Huawei released the E2E FTTH solution. It features precise investment, fast network construction, quick service provisioning, and efficient operations and maintenance, enabling operators to greatly shorten the RoI period and achieve business success.”

Safaricom has so far connected more than 81,000 homes with fibre Internet as the telco expands its presence beyond mobile telephony services.

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The home fibre Internet network currently covers 19 neighbourhoods in Nairobi including South B and Pangani as well as Ngong and Rongai in Kajiado County.

“By using Huawei’s E2E fibre to the home solution, we can quickly build the FTTH network. We are keen to broaden the development space for new fixed broadband services,” Safaricom IT director Thibuad Rerolle said in a statement.