During the staging of Connected Kenya in 2022, it was mentioned that the government was expanding the fiber optic cable infrastructure in the country. The then ICT cabinet secretary, Joe Mucheru, stated that the expansion was part of the Digital Masterplan, which can be read here. The new Ruto government further highlighted the importance of this infrastructure and planned to lay over 5000 km of fiber. According to the ICT Ministry’s scorecard, the government has successfully laid 5280 km of fibre.
Partnerships with private sector players have contributed to installing 2,500 kilometres of fibre optic cable, while the Government of Kenya installed an additional 2,780 kilometres. The private sector entities involved in this effort include Liquid Telecom, Wananchi Group, Safaricom, Airtel, and others.
To facilitate the nationwide rollout of the 100,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable, the Ministry has collaborated with various government agencies, such as Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC), Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO), TELCOM, Kenya Railways, and Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC).
The Ministry has determined its specific roles and contributions to the fibre optic network expansion project through coordination and agreement with these agencies. Utilizing the existing fibre connectivity available from these agencies, the Ministry aims to expedite the process of connecting County Governments to the broader network.
Lastly, the Ministry collaborated with County Governments to establish 194 Wi-Fi hotspots in Markets and County Headquarters. 172 WiFi Connections were set up as part of Community Innovation Hubs, and 55 directly by the ICT Authority. To note, the county governments meet the cost of power for the Wi-Fi devices.
In a separate effort, the Ministry and County Governments identified 14,690 public Wi-Fi hotspot sites across the country, focusing on high-impact areas for installation.
