Insight into Kenya’s walk to digitization; The fiber optic Infrastructure

Last Updated 13 years ago by Kenya Engineer

With the deployment of the undersea cable, technology has taken great strides not only in our country but major developments are evident around the world today. The optical network in Kenya has seen tremendous growth in terms of infrastructure development. The government has embraced technology and deployed fiber networks upto the county level with the NOFBI (National Optical Fiber Backbone Infrastructure) project whose main aim is to enhance communication and coordination of the resources within the counties. This is no mean fete as it provides an opportunity and avenue for growth, development and self-sustainability especially with efforts towards achievement of Vision 2030.

Most communication has been facilitated through copper cables, satellite and microwave links. These could only support a few Giga bits per second but were also greatly affected by climatic conditions such as fog, rain etc. There was also interference with other microwave systems and earth stations thus making communication highly ineffective during adverse conditions. On the upper hand, the links have a lower installation cost and easier to deploy.

Among the known downturns when using copper cables is vandalism that causes huge losses to the telecommunication companies. Due to increase in demand for coverage, optical fiber networks were deployed. A single copper pair may have up to six simultaneous phone calls while a single fiber pair is capable of carrying over 10 million simultaneous phone calls for 64 channels at 10Gb/s.

Optical fiber has an almost limitless capacity with some of the undersea cables designed to have a capacity of 2.56 Tb/s, offering wider coverage and also increasing the data rates. There is no interference of the signal and is not affected by climatic conditions. However, fiber networks require a high cost of installation and may take longer to deploy. That notwithstanding, they offer the lowest latency of all transmission media. This improves on the quality of service provided over fiber links.  The latency level is critical for high frequency trading which is measured in microseconds. Low latency requires more bandwidth which is available through fiber thus enhancing market competitiveness which is a key factor towards economic stimulus.

Inside the fiber
The optical fiber has three major sections: Core, Cladding and Coating. The core carries the light signals and is mostly made of silica and a dopant to raise the refractive index of the medium. The cladding keeps light in the core and is made of pure silica while the coating is made of glass and acrylate. Light waves are directed and guided down the optic fiber striking the interface at angles greater than the critical angle and each of these surfaces have a different refractive index with the core having a refractive index greater than the cladding. This allows for total internal reflection and effective transmission along the fiber with no losses across the walls of the fiber.

Fiber types
The various types of fiber are single mode or multi-mode. Single mode is used for long distance networks in high data rate applications. These experience minimum attenuation and dispersion but have more expensive transceivers. The multi-mode is used for medium and high information capacity in short and medium lengths with a larger core than the single mode allowing for easier connection and coupling.

The bit rates are evolving from STM1 which has a capacity of 155 Mb/s to 100Gb/s with the market penetration at 10 Gb/s ( STM 64) – 40Gb/s.

The three major providers of fiber in Kenya are SEACOM, EASSy (The East African Sub-marine cable System) and TEAMs (The East African Marine systems). These were initiated with capacities of 1.28 Tb/s, 3.84 Tb/s and 1.2 Tb/s respectively. Currently, we have an active capacity of 100Gb/s deployed within the country. This arguably makes Kenya lead the race of the future in a digital revolution especially in East Africa.

With the present deployment of Fiber To The Building (FTTB) in the country.  It is our anticipation that the government will fast track the infrastructure layout and upgrade to Fiber To The Home (FTTH) also at the county level. This would help us have a competitive footing with some of the countries such as Nigeria as more people are able to gain access to faster networks.

The role of fiber 
Fiber is not only used in telecommunications but plays a major role in e-Governance, e-Tourism, e-Education, e-Commerce and e-Lifestyle but to mention just a few. In view of Vision 2030 and the development of Africa’s Silicon savannah, this could not have come at a better time than this.

In the recent past, the digitization of the systems at the County Council of Nairobi brought a lease of life to architects, surveyors, engineers and planners as they are able to submit their designs online for approval. The main aim of this venture is to curb on unqualified individuals offering sub-standard designs and services.

Technological advancement is thus not an optional luxury but is central to the 21st century development, education and economic growth. This can well be attested to with some of the tech names as Google, Microsoft and IBM setting base in Kenya and establishing research labs to enhance innovation. This has helped to rank Kenya as the most developed country in Eastern Africa and the fourth best in Africa.

With the increasing demand for internet services and the global digitization, Kenya is best placed if it expands the skills, access and usage of the digital services. The development of the smart cities as Konza and Tatu puts us at a competitive edge in realizing our growth and GDP targets since technological advancement is the sure way to go. If we are able to increase the capacity of the fiber network with the trending advancement to packet communication, the ICT hubs at the tech cities will be the target to attain by many. This will be of importance to the country’s economic growth by improving the literacy level and a reduction in poverty levels. Imagine the whole population of the earth on the phone on a single fiber at the same time, the billion dollar question that we all ask ourselves is: “Is technology the answer to the economic doldrums in our country?”

Story by Sally Musonye,
University of Nairobi,
Electrical and Electronics Engineering.