IT solutions provider AccessKenya has now connected 400 commercial buildings on its metropolitan fibre network to meet the surging demand for fibre connectivity among its corporate clients.
Having invested over Sh100 million on this project this year, AccessKenya’s Internet Division MD, Mr Kris Senanu said that this expansion that will cover a 45KM stretch in Nairobi and an additional 20KM in Mombasa. The expansion will see the company’s total fibre network coverage extend to over 350KM in the two towns.
“Our reliability of service has contributed immensely towards the growth on our network. The past two quarters have seen a surge in the demand for fibre mostly from our corporate clients,” said Mr Senanu.
Group Projects Manager Mr Ndung’u Njoroge noted that most of the civil works in the target areas for expansion are ongoing and on schedule for completion as the projections for the year.
“We are already working on the longer expansion routes in Nairobi with only one area pending approval due to consideration of the road expansion. We want to carefully lay the cables to avoid interruptions that may be occasioned by road construction in future,” said Mr Njoroge.
With a target to connect 100 buildings on its network in Nairobi and Mombasa this year, the company has already hooked 50 buildings. There’s a planned expansion in Mombasa to cover Nyali in the North Coast targeting all major hotels.
“We expect to start the work this month and hopefully complete by November this year,” Mr Njoroge said.
Some of the areas already covered in Nairobi this year include Eastleigh and Industrial Area (covering Likoni and Nanyuki, Kitui and Kampala Roads).
Civil works along the newly completed Thika Super highway are ongoing and the company is targeting closure by September.
“We are also working towards completing coverage Athi River and in Mlolongo in the next two months,” said Mr. Njoroge.
Enjoying a 42% market share in the country, AccessKenya has in the recent years diversified its product portfolio to include Data Backup, Disaster Recovery and a range of Unified Communication Solutions in a bid partake the pie of the highly competitive data business.
According to Mr Senanu, increasing fibre uptake has played a major role the continued expansion and product diversification. Only a couple of weeks ago, the company launched a Fibre to the Premise (FTTP) solution targeting property developers to incorporate technology in buildings while at the design stage.
“We want to involve property developers, architects and project so as to ensure fibre connectivity is provisioned for in the building plans and architectural designs,’ said Mr Senanu, adding that this will not only improve connectivity but also add value to properties and facilitate efficiency in resource management.
These developments come even as recent Statistics from the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) indicate that fibre subscriptions grew by 3.9% in the first quarter of 2012 to reach 38, 966.This was, compared to the same period last year, a 118.3% growth.
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