Telecommunications and IT Overview

Since the beginning of the liberalization of the telecommunications sector in 1999, Kenya has seen fast internet growth and even faster mobile phone growth. Encouraged by this development, the government has plans to turn Kenya into East Africa's leader in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Since1999, Kenya has experienced radical changes as the liberalization process of the telecommunications sector began. Of vital importance to the process was the establishment of the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) in February of that same year through the Kenya Communications Act, 1978. CCK's role is to license and regulate telecommunications, radio communication and postal services in Kenya. Since then a visible boost has gripped the industry.

Phenomenal mobile phone growth

A mobile phone shop in Nairobi

In 2000, some 180,000 Kenyans had access to a mobile phone. By the end of 2006 that figure had grown to 7.3 million people - an increase of more than 4,000 percent.

The fast-growing mobile sector is characterized by competition between two operators: Safaricom, a 60/40 percent joint venture between the government-owned Telkom Kenya and Britain's Vodafone; and Celtel, a subsidiary of Africa's third-ranked phone company. Both companies have made considerable growth and profits since their inception but still there is enormous potential remaining in the mobile phone sector.

In March 2007, global telecommunications giant Ericsson opened a regional hub in Nairobi as part of its ongoing emerging markets expansion programme. The mobile phone sector currently accounts for 5 percent of Kenya's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and analysis show the sector as holding great potential for further growth once a third mobile phone services operator is introduced and mobile phone taxes are lowered.

Internet development

Kenya's internet sector has managed to grow considerably over 10 years with what started as a handful of dial-up modems in 1995 evolving into a dynamic industry with numerous internet hosts, nearly 100 licensed internet service providers (ISPs) and roughly 2.7 million Internet users in the country. There is an abundance of internet cafes in the main urban centres and wireless technologies are available throughout Nairobi.

The Kenyan government has launched an e-government strategy, a programme that intends to connect the country's rural population. Beyond downloading pension forms and embarking on other virtual interactions with Nairobi, citizens in the e-government Internet Cafes can access helpful information.

Kenya expands broadband network

The government is now supporting several projects aimed at boosting the country's broadband infrastructure with the most high-profile projects being the East Africa Marine Systems (EAMS) and the East Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy), initiatives that will connect the countries of eastern Africa via a high bandwidth fibre optic cable system with the rest of the world. TEAMS, a multi-million dollar fibre optic cable link from Mombasa to Fujaira in the United Arab Emirates, is expected to link East Africa to the rest of the world.

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