The Communications Authority of Kenya is financing the laying of 2,500 kilometres of fibre across nineteen counties at Sh5 billion to enhance Internet access for Kenyans in rural areas.
Currently, the project is 50 per cent complete, with 1,300 kilometres of fibre optic connectivity already laid.
Speaking during the ITW Africa 2024 at a Nairobi hotel, CA Director General David Mugonyi said Phase II of this project, which is being undertaken in partnership with the ICT Authority (ICTA) and Kenya Power, would facilitate last-mile connectivity to 3,800 public offices and institutions across the country.
What is the link between broadband access and socio-economic development?
He noted that numerous studies have established a clear link between broadband access and socio-economic development and broadband usage is associated with business growth and formation, particularly in knowledge-intensive industries, leading to increased access to new ideas, supply chains and customers.
Mugonyi said access to affordable, reliable and high-speed internet is the cornerstone of modern economies and essential for economic growth and is also a critical factor to full participation in modern digital life.
“Today, connectivity is the biggest driver of the global economy. Without robust, secure and competitive telecommunications markets, Africa’s participation and capacity to exploit the opportunities of a rapidly expanding digital economy are significantly constrained,” he said.
The CA boss, however, noted that expanding access creates exposure to cyber threats and “to set the pace for cyber security we promulgated the Cybercrime and Computer Misuse (Critical Information Infrastructure and Cybercrime Management) Regulations early this year hence providing an all-encompassing regulatory framework for securing our critical information infrastructure”.
Cyber Security Operations Centre
Mugonyi further said that Kenya has also established the Cyber Security Operations Centre for the ICT and Telecommunications Sector to enhance cyber security in the country. These regulations, Mugonyi said, will boost the capacity of both public and private sector institutions supporting critical information infrastructure sectors such as e-government, telecommunications, banking and finance, transportation, energy and health, which are all anchors of a thriving digital economy.
“The fundamental character of technology is how quickly it changes. As a regulator this makes life interesting and this is why we are undertaking a major reset of our legal frameworks and established a Regulatory Sandbox to ensure emerging technologies and the pace setters that are using them are not hampered or slowed down by regulatory challenges,” said the DG.
CA, Mugonyi said, is committed to creating an environment that fosters competition in all sectors and “we encourage the entry of new players and improvements in quality and scale”.
