Kenya hooked up to 5G in first for East Africa

By Thembelihle Mkhonza Last updated Mar 26, 2021

Nokia is powering East Africa’s first 5G commercial services in partnership with Kenyan telecoms operator Safaricom.

Chief executive officer of Safaricom Peter Ndegwa wearing navy suit — 5G technology will enable new applications in areas such as virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence for Safaricom subscribers. Picture: supplied

JOHANNESBURG, March 26 (ANA) – Nokia has on Friday announced that it is powering East Africa’s first 5G commercial services with Kenyan telecoms operator Safaricom.

Nokia’s 5G single radio access network (SRAN) technology and 5G FastMile gateways enable ultra-fast fixed wireless access (FWA) services to Safaricom’s subscribers across Kisumu and the Western Province of Kenya, Nokia said in a statement on Friday.

5G technology will enable new applications in areas such as virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence for Safaricom subscribers. It will also benefit enterprises across important energy, health care, education, transport and entertainment applications.

Chief executive officer of Safaricom Peter Ndegwa said: “We are proud to be the first operator in the East Africa to launch 5G services, bringing the benefits of 5G technology to our customers.

“5G capabilities will change a lot of things in unimaginable ways for people and enterprises, playing a key role towards fulfilling our vision to transform lives. Our long-term partner Nokia’s technologies and services expertise helped us achieve this milestone in our journey to provide world-class broadband services to our customers.”

At a launch event in Nairobi, Safaricom showcased the capabilities of the 5G network with three use cases: 5G hologram, ultra-HD video communication and virtual fashion shopping.

The 5G network utilises massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) radio to improve spectral efficiency and throughput capacity, maximising the return on Safaricom’s RAN investment.

Nokia’s Amr K. El Leithy, SVP, Middle East and Africa Market, said: “With over 200 commercial 5G agreements with leading customers across the globe, Nokia has been bringing 5G network to every part of the world.

“Our 5G network for Safaricom is a key part of this journey and we are committed to working with the operator to transform the communications landscape in the country. This will open new business opportunities for Safaricom.”

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher