FTTH in Nairobi

INTERNET

Telkom Kenya has launched fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband services, with transmission speeds of up to 8Mbps, in Muthaiga and Parklands, two of Nairobi’ s most affluent suburbs.

Telkom says the service will be extended to other areas in due course, with triple-play services mooted by end-2011, pending negotiations with TV content providers. New double-play tariffs start at KES 2,999 per month (USD34.7), rising incrementally to KES6,500. The premium package includes 2,000 free fixed line minutes, and an additional 3,500 mobile minutes.

Telkom Kenya CEO Mickael Ghossein commented: “ By integrating our copper and fibre infrastructure, our new bouquet of ‘ Orange Double-Play’ offers .. are undoubtedly set to exceed the voice and data communication expectations of our customers. With speeds of up to 8Mbps, we now have a network easily scalable to transmit video signals, just like in developed countries.

We are already in talks with partners that will see Orange introduce triple-play services in the near future. Today, we are launching Orange Double-Play to serve residents and businesses in Muthaiga and its environs; however we will soon roll this out further afield into other areas. We have now achieved our dream of delivering true broadband to Kenyan homes.”

If Orange does launch triple-play as planned, it will go head-to-head with the Wananchi Group which launched its own long-awaited triple-play service in December 2010, under the Zuku brand.

The fibre package went live in the districts of Kileleshwa, Kilimani, Lavington and Hurligham.

Fibre rollout to the remainder of Nairobi and Mombasa is scheduled to be completed during the second half of 2011, whilst Tanzania and Uganda have been mooted for subsequent connectivity. Wananchi intends to pass one million homes in East Africa by 2015.