Ericsson is betting on the rising adoption of 5G network in the country and the East African member states to drive its regional growth.
This coming amidst increased competition in the 5G space as different telcos scale up their coverage for faster internet speeds.
In July, Safaricom announced plans to deploy an additional 595 fifth-generation (5G) sites by March next year, in a bid to compete with Airtel Kenya, which currently holds a higher number of locations (370) supporting high-speed 5G connectivity.
The global technology firm in an exclusive interview with the Star revealed that it’s looking to tap these opportunities in the region for growth and to ensure the increased adoption of its equipment in the region.
“At present, our priority is driving the deployment of 5G networks across the regions and ensuring that the robust 5G infrastructure of today continues to evolve towards the 6G era,” said Ericssons’ vice president and head of networks in middle east and Africa Chafic Traboulsi.
In 2022, there were seven million 5G subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa with firm mobility report estimating that that 5G will have the fastest growth rate in subscriptions in the region.
More than 10 countries have launched commercial 5G networks to date, with more planned, raising the forecast for 5G subscriptions to 13 percent of the total subscription base in 2028.
“We believe the future of 5G networks will be powered by AI, which will allow a higher degree of autonomous operation. AI is poised to make waves in terms of improved performance, higher efficiency, enhanced customer experience, as well as creation of new business models and use cases,” said
In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, 5G subscriptions are projected to account for 32 percent of the total in 2028 as more countries issue licenses and spectrum to enable 5G network investment.
The strong uptake is driven by greater device availability and early large-scale deployments in certain markets.
According to data from the Communications Authority 5G, is now in 21 counties across Kenya.
In total during Q3 of FY22/ the total mobile data/Internet subscriptions stood at 47.96 million.
From that total, 67.1 percent were on mobile broadband.
The uptake of mobile broadband has continued to increase as the consumer’s desire faster Internet speeds.
As 5G is the latest technology standard for broadband cellular networks, the number of subscribers is still relatively small.
Based on the data from the referenced period, 373,573 Kenyans are using the technology.