Safaricom eyes 595 new 5G sites in battle with Airtel
A sign showing Fibre ready zone in Nyeri town. This service enables subscribers access from their homes through fibre provided by Safaricom. FILE PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NMG
Safaricom plans to add 595 new fifth-generation (5G) sites by the end of March next year to rival Airtel Kenya that currently boasts more locations that support the superfast speeds.
The telco says in the latest annual report that it targets to increase its 5G sites from the current 205 to 800 by the close of March 2024, in a development that will require Airtel to add more sites or cede its current lead.
Airtel Kenya last week announced it has taken the number of its active 5G sites to 370, positioned in 16 counties and 180 wards nationwide.
This means Airtel is currently ahead of Safaricom, which added 170 5G sites to take its count at the end of March to 205 compared with 35 in a similar period last year.
Safaricom’s 5G sites, however, cover 23 counties compared with Airtel’s 16.
“Our aim is to continue increasing the empowerment of our customers with super-fast internet at work, at home and on the move, by supplementing our growing fibre network," says Safaricom in the annual report.
But Airtel Kenya also stands ready to increase its active sites past the current 370 as it prepares to battle Safaricom for a larger share of the fast-growing data business.
The Kenyan unit of India’s Bharti Airtel disclosed earlier that it had over 600 5G-ready sites that do not require any further modifications before going live.
“Airtel 5G will revolutionise various sectors, such as smart cities, education, healthcare, Agri-tech, transport systems, entertainment, and more, shaping the future of Kenya,” said Shish Malhotra, managing director at Airtel Kenya.
The 5G technology is much faster compared to the current widely available 4G but requires more high-end smartphones in addition to the expensive data bundles that are out of reach for the majority of Kenyans.
Subscribers who want to use the superfast internet have to buy new handsets that are compatible with 5G before they can hook to a service that offers much faster data downloads and upload speeds easing congestion.
