Kisumu residents to get free Internet in a month

Governor Jack Ranguma and Kisumu County Commissioner Erastus Ekidor during the 2014 Mashujaa Day celebrations. Mr Ranguma announced that Kisumu Town will be connected to Wi-Fi Internet in a month’s time. PHOTO | TOM OTIENO | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• Kisumu will become the second Kenyan town after Nakuru and fourth in Africa to have the free Internet connection.
• Mr Ranguma said that his government had overcome most of the challenges and the project would soon be rolled out.
• The governor said plans had been put in place to ensure that the project did not fail.
• He also revealed that his government plans to establish what he called “Lakewood”.

By PATRICK LANGAT
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Kisumu Town will be connected to Wi-Fi Internet in a month’s time, Governor Jack Ranguma has said.

The lakeside town will become the second Kenyan town after Nakuru and the fourth in Africa to offer the free Internet connection.

Nakuru rolled out its Wi-Fi connection on March 30 after facing numerous challenges. The town, however, struggled to maintain the Sh200 million project.

Mr Ranguma said that his government had overcome most of the challenges and the project would soon be rolled out.

“I want to promise you that we will be launching the project in about a month or so,” he said during the Mashujaa Day celebrations on Monday.

The governor said plans had been put in place to ensure that the project did not fail, with the issue of speed and coverage being tackled first.

“Although there has been a delay in launching our free Wi-Fi project in the CBD due to technical challenges, I am happy to report that the challenges have been addressed and the process is back on track,” he said.

The governor said that various ministries and departments had already been instructed to structure their service delivery to fit into the digital system.

TRANSFORM COUNTY

“We will ensure we use the free Wi-Fi to transform our county into a health and medical hub in the sub-Saharan region,” Mr Ranguma said.

The free Wi-Fi, an initiative of the Presidency in conjunction with the county governments and other agencies, was earmarked for Kisumu and Nakuru counties at the start of the year.

However, due to technical challenges the two projects failed to pick up as expected.

State House Digital Communications Director Dennis Itumbi, whose docket the project was under, said that his team would involve Canadian experts to help boost the implementation of the project.

WORKING WITH EXPERTS

“We are working with leading experts from Canada who have installed free Wi-Fi in several towns in the world.

"We are also working at the speeds of the service,” said Mr Itumbi in an earlier interview.

In Nakuru, the service covers a 10-kilometre radius, with the State House team promising that the Sh200 million will be extended once the pilot project is fully operational.

Mr Ranguma also revealed that his government had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kenya Film Commission and other US-based industry players to set up what he called “Lakewood”.

“The MoU will help us open greater opportunities for interaction and talent identification,” he said