Kenya Data Networks (KDN) has announced a partnership with Kenya Power and Lighting Company, in which the IT company would lease fibre optic cable capacity from the power supplier in a five year deal worth Sh135 million.
“This will provide better uptime on the internet and corporate wide area networks for not just Kenya, but also for the neighbouring countries”, said Kai Wulff, the company’s chief executive officer, quoted by Kenyan publication Daily Nation.
The agreement sees KDN benefiting from an alternative route for data traffic from the existing underground fibre cables, to ensure on-going communication in the country, regardless of vandalism acts.
KDN joins Safaricom, Jamii Telecom and Wananchi Group in this effort to access the 500 km Nairobi-Mombasa power transmission line, which was completed last year.
The fibre optic installation is part of a system control and data acquisition modernization project worth Sh1.9billion. The project is expected to be completed by July this year.
The cable route covers Kipevu, Mombasa, Nairobi, mount Kenya region and ends in Tororo, Uganda.
Safaricom has agreed to a 20 year lease at Sh288 million, while both Wananchi Group and Jamii Telecommunications will pay Sh27 million annually for a five year lease.
The cable has 24 pairs of fibre, with the power company utilizing only 6. Kenya Power has reportedly been offering fibre optic cable for lease to licensed operators since it was granted a network facility provider license by the Communications Commission of Kenya last year.
