Kenya second to launch National Broadband Strategy in Africa

Last Updated 13 years ago by Kenya Engineer

By Daisy Gakuu

Kenya became the second country in Africa after South Africa to launch an elaborate broadband strategy following the breakfast launch of the National Broadband Strategy (NBS) by the Government last week. The NBS is aimed at transforming Kenya into a knowledge-based economy. Kenya’s ICT industry key players and other stakeholders involved in the development and implementation of the strategy were present. By and large, the objective of this strategy is to provide quality broadband services to all citizens in the country.

In a speech read by the Cabinet Secretary for Planning and Devolution, Miss Ann Waiguru on behalf of the Deputy President Hon. William Ruto,he said it was increasingly becoming impossible to achieve economic development without the integration of ICTs, especially broadband, in all facets of the economy.

‘‘National economic development and prosperity in this age cannot be fully realized in the absence of a robust broadband ecosystem.  This is why we need a clear road map that defines, and articulates the national ICT agenda,’’ he said.

Hon. Ruto pledged the government’s commitment to invest more in the subsector by increasing budgetary allocations from 0.5% to over 5% in the coming years.

Dr. Fred Matiang’i, Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications and Technology (ICT), lauded the launch and called for increased consultations to make the broadband a reality for Kenyans.

‘‘We hope to deepen digital literacy among our people. We are adopting an inclusive approach,’’ said Dr. Matiang’i.
The US Government provided technical support towards developing the National Broadband Strategy through USAID’s Global Broadband and Innovations (GBI) initiative.

Mr. Robert F. Godec, US Ambassador to Kenya, said the launch marked a milestone in the development of ICTs in Kenya.  The US envoy said Kenya had made significant strides in the ICT sector, from the revolutionary MPESA to taking the lead in the number of internet users on the continent.

Mr. Francis Wangusi, Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) Director General, termed ICTs as a critical pillar of development and called for the establishment of an infrastructure that would enhance communication networks in the country.

‘‘ICTs, and in particular Broadband networks, are now as important as transport, power or water networks. This is therefore a very cheerful moment for us as we launch the framework for the deployment of broadband in Kenya,’’ he said.

The strategy proposes a Ksh250 billion budget to fund the development of the broadband infrastructure, supporting national capacity building and awareness and content and innovations.

The proposed finance sources include innovative financial instruments for instance: launching a Broadband Infrastructure Bond, a Broadband Venture Capital Fund as well as exploiting existing instruments such as the Growth Enterprise Market available within the Capital Markets plus increased government spending on ICT of up to 5%.

This comes barely a month after the 20th EACO Congress and Exhibition themed “Making Broadband work for Socio-Economic Growth” was held in Nairobi. Read : EACO seeks to establish broadband capacity to stimulate economic development

The Congress hosted by East African Communication Organisation (EACO) and CCK has the onus to help regional Governments of East Africa develop enabling policy and regulatory interventions to spur ICT development.

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