Internet Prices could drop if we implement Backhaul fibre

By Dan Muhuni

Internet prices in Kenya can significantly drop if backhaul and last mile connectivity is properly achieved, a regional Sea submarine cable executive has said.

Mr. Julius Opio, SEACOM’s East Africa Head says the unregulated way of deploying the two important fibre links to end users means ICT companies in Kenya are spending a huge amount of their resources on ensuring the connections are in place.

Backhaul fibre connectivity refers to the interconnection between the under-sea and inland cables, while last mile connectivity is the final link that joins the metro cable to the clients.

“We need a regulated way to deploy fibre in Kenya in a cost effective and efficient way using international standards,” says Opio.

He says that although there has been progress in the last mile fibre connectivity in the last 3 years, the initiatives have been spearheaded by individual Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Operators as opposed to being guided by policy.

“Our regulatory law does not incorporate data fibre connectivity,” said Opio. He was speaking at an America Chamber of Commerce in Kenya function, held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Nairobi.

Despite the fibre connection hiccups, Internet uptake in Kenya has been phenomenal since the landing of the sub-marine cables in Kenya. Last year, approximately 7.8 million Kenyans logged onto the Internet, with the figure increasing to 8.6 million in the first quarter of 2011, says Opio.

Opio says the stage is now set for a digital revolution, and predicted that in the next 1 to 3 years, consumer spending will go online. “Within this period, there will be a major impact in the way we do our business,” says Mr. Opio.

According to SEACOM, iconic inventions like mobile money transfer services, will become web based, even as there will be major transformations in content management with people accessing TV programs and news from the Internet, through Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) solutions.

Opio says with high speed broadband capacity now available in Kenya, global businesses will be hosted in the country, while Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) will seek to outsource some of their services like data hosting and network security, software services like payroll; Human Resource and Enterprise Systems. “These will be stored on the web, such that businesses will not have to buy software and get their IT departments to run it,” says Opio.