Kenya’s telecom regulator plans to launch 5G this year. Matano Ndaro, the director of licensing, compliance, and standards at the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), announced on February 21.
According to him, the regulator has created a roadmap outlining tactics to help the project move forward. This year, the CA will allow the first 5G pilot projects, release the necessary spectrum bands, and finally grant commercial 5G licenses.
“In the coming month, we’ll have a validation session to review the feedback we have received. After that, the plan is to establish a nationwide 5G forum and assign pilot frequencies once we have incorporated stakeholder feedback,” Matano Ndaro remarked.
The regulator follows in the footsteps of numerous telecom companies that have already started rolling out 5G last year.
With support from Huawei and Nokia, market leader Safaricom debuted 5G in key cities across the country on March 26. By the end of 2021, the telecom hoped to have 250 locations. Airtel, its main competitor, is ready to transition to ultra-high-speed and has already renovated 600 sites in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Malindi in preparation for the spectrum. Furthermore, many phone manufacturers have offered 5G-enabled lines in Kenya; however, the devices are now out of reach for the average Kenyan.
Operators will fulfil increased digital demand and new consumption patterns thanks to the ultra-fast connectivity that the regulator is building. Smart houses and buildings, 3D video, streaming, cloud-based work and play, remote medical services, virtual reality, and augmented reality are just a few of the possibilities.
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