Safaricom is set to launch Kenya’s first fifth-generation (5G) mobile internet services targeting major urban centres.
The service will be available in Nairobi and greater Western Kenya including Kisumu, Kisii and Bungoma counties which routinely witness increased data traffic.
The telco completed tests and trials for the upgraded network last year as the company seeks to capitalise on growing mobile internet use in the country.
The technology that will be supplied by Nokia Corporation and Huawei will effectively make Safaricom the inaugural mobile operator to offer commercial and superfast services in the region.
Safaricom subscribers interested in the service will need to acquire new handsets that are compatible with 5G to enjoy the super-fast internet.
By September 2020, Kenya had 58.9 million mobile subscribers of which 42.8 million had mobile data subscriptions.
Recent data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) shows Safaricom grew its mobile subscriptions 4.2 percent to 38.14 million in the three months to September 2020.
