Nairobi, (IT News Africa)–SAFARICOM, the listed telecoms operator in Kenya will Thursday do live testing of the TEAMS undersea cable, according to the Chief Executive Officer Michael Joseph.
Safaricom subscribers have started enjoying even faster Internet connectivity, with the firm recording high demand of users.
Said Joseph,“With the undersea cables going live, we are poised to deliver an even better Internet experience. Our recent user deal with Jamii Telecoms gives us last-mile access to our subscribers whether they are mobile, in homes (fixed) or businesses. The possibilities with Safaricom are infinite.”
Safaricom is a major investor in the two fibre optic cables with a 22.5 per cent interest in TEAMS which provides it with 22,500 MB of capacity and 4 STM1s with Seacom which provides it with another 620 MB of capacity.
In regards to costs, Joseph said there would be no massive reduction of costs any sooner until after six to seven months.
“The costs will come down between 20 to 30 per cent, but not immediately,” he said.
Speaking in Nairobi onWednesday, Joseph said that as a first stage, Safaricom has connected some of its external and internal IP traffic to the Seacom cable which means that Safaricom 3G, EDGE, WiMax and fixed data subscribers are already enjoying faster speeds and response times.
The firm would continue to leverage its investment in telecoms infrastructure to ensure its subscribers get the best Internet service.
When the TEAMS cable becomes available, after extensive testing by the contractors, more of Safaricom’s network will be connected, including voice and data services.
Its investment in WiMax and Kenyan’s only 3G network and partnership with JTL would be justified as more customers benefit from faster and consistent speeds, increased reliability and lower costs.
Safaricom’s huge investment in Seacom is in line with its credentials as the largest local consumer of undersea cable capacity and market leader in both voice and data traffic.
Investment in both TEAMS and Seacom cables gives Safaricom’s subscriber base, the highest in the country at over 13 million, access to the most stable and reliable Internet connection in the market.
“With over 1.6 million of our subscribers already accessing the Internet from their phones, Safaricom has taken over the Internet Service Provider (ISP) realm previously dominated by traditional ISP operations.
“With our leadership in mobile corporate voice business, Safaricom is poised to take over the leadership of the corporate broadband market in Kenya,” added Mr. Joseph.
Safaricom’s data offering is a total end-to-end offering for individual, home, SME and corporate users.
The firm recently reduced the price of high speed data modems to KShs 3,999 and is running a promotion on data bundles which cost as low as KShs 250.
It also offers a hybrid of last-mile connectivity solutions tailored to meet the needs of its customers; whether it is fixed voice or data services through a variety of platforms: 3G, Wimax and fibre optic.
By Brian Adero
cogratulation safaricom for the way forward keep on updating kenyans n world, feeling proud as im esteem customer and if possible to be among the staff
Nice for you safaricom. But I will stick to zain unlimited internet for 2999. Safcom is just toooooooo expensive for me.
Hey thanks to you Lisa.
tHE 2995/- A MONTH FOR UNLIMITED SERVICE IS THE GREATEST EXPERIENCE.
THE SPEEDS ARE RELATIVELY STABLE…AND AM FINE WITH IT
Heh, typical…
No need to congratulate Safaricom, how’s that going to get you cheaper internet access?
After all the trumpeting of the new potential that the fibre optic cable would bring, now they say, “Oh actually not just yet. Let us just cream it for a few months, then we’ll see about letting the wanachi in on this technological marvel…”
Safaricom shows such short term thinking in not immediately reducing the price, at least by a few percent. Sh2500 for a Gb is just not viable for most of us, so I’ll be switching to Zain.
Safaricom will not always be the big dog on the block in the future, especially not by showing such disregard and a certain arrogance towards their customers.
And why the secrecy by Seacom as to which ISP’s are gaining access to the fibre? Is it so that their unsuspecting customers might then be fleeced, unawares as it were, that they really should now be paying tariffs commensurate with access via fibre as opposed to satellite?
Lets face it.. Safaricom may have faster access speeds etc etc, BUT with Zain, I have UNLIMITED downloads for 2995/= I’ve been a Zain customer for months and was misled into getting Safaricom just 4 days ago. it’s fast, but with my 2500 and one GB of downloads already gone!! 5 days!!!! I usually download about 3GB monthly with my zain line.
With fibre cable wouldn’t it make more sense to make the safaricom unlimited! even charge 4K BUT unlimited!! I still can’t do more coz I’m watching my downloads. 250/= for 40MB! Ridiculous!! My computer’s windows Updater automatically downloads more than that without my knowledge!
Go Zain! Your plan is THE PLAN!!
Safaricom you are doing a good job. Come on guys, we are leaving in an age where technology, business, everything is moving at hyper-speed. We are constantly being bombarded by info, so to stay competitive you have to hone in on that which provides faster acces to info and assesment of changes. There are connections now that give speeds 10-6000(group) times faster than broadband internet…fast tcp, cern, intellipipe, caltec. Keep up safaricom…
Safaricom may be the fastest, but the most expensive! what good would 1 GB for 2500 do you in 2 days? Make it unlimited guys, soon
one thing has apparently become very clear to me about safaricom.as long as michael joseph is still at the helm…colluding,manipulating,blackmailing and fleecing customers will be the order of the day.lets face it guys,safaricom has cornered it’s customers pretty well and they know it.no air!no space!no idea!