Corporate News
Airtel Kenya CEO Adil el Youssefi. PHOTO | FILE |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
By OKUTTAH MARK
In Summary
- Airtel says its main focus currently is to ensure there is optimal use of the 3G frequencies allocated to them.
Airtel is upgrading its 3G network as it seeks to
improve the quality of its Internet service within buildings in Nairobi
and also prepare for the launch of the more superior 4G technology.
The announcement comes barely two weeks after the
Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) gave the firm and Telkom Kenya
regulatory approval to start testing 4G technology on their networks
using their current frequency spectrum.
The Nairobi network upgrade is part of Airtel’s
Sh2.5 billion project that has so far seen the Mombasa and Kitale
networks upgraded.
“The network upgrade in Nairobi has started in
order to allow customers to continue accessing uninterrupted quality of
service,” said Airtel Kenya CEO Adil el Youssefi.
“The network upgrade also makes Airtel Kenya’s network 4G LTE ready.”
This means that Airtel may become the second mobile firm to launch 4G technology after Safaricom.
The firm told the Business Daily in an
earlier interview that its main focus currently is to ensure there is
optimal use of the 3G frequencies allocated to them.
Only Safaricom
has launched the high-speed wireless data Internet service in the
country. Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution or simply 4G LTE supports
wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones.
Safaricom launched its 4G LTE service last December in some parts of Nairobi and Mombasa island.
It is awaiting extra frequency capacity to increase expand the wireless broadband to other parts of the country.
In addition to voice, a 4G system provides
broadband Internet access to laptops with wireless modems and other
handheld devices.
The fourth generation wireless Internet access is
expected to change the industry’s dynamics as subscribers start to
experience and demand high-speed connections.
Telkom Kenya has so far rolled out the 3G network to 41 new urban and peri-urban areas.
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