
At a press conference on Wednesday in Nairobi, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal stated that the company is at an advanced stage of Airtel 5G rollout in July, and that the launch will take place sometime early next month.
“Our launch of 5G services, possibly early next month, is not too far away, we are now in the final lap of the launch of 5G services.” Mittal continued. The telco has already pushed out its 4G network throughout all of Africa, including Kenya.
According to information released by Airtel in February, the sophisticated network service’s initial rollout will concentrate on a few upscale neighborhoods in Nairobi that have the necessary equipment and financial resources to ensure business relevance.
Although 5G technology is significantly quicker than the already prevalent 4G, it also demands more expensive devices and expensive data plans, which are out of the price range of the majority of Kenyans.
Safaricom, the first provider of 5G services, has given priority to locations with a lot of wealthy and middle-class subscribers. They include the Greensteds International School in Nakuru as well as Nairobi’s Kileleshwa, Muthaiga, Karen, Lavington, and Two Rivers Mall.
28 towns in Kenya’s 21 counties, including Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, Kajiado, Kisumu, Mombasa, Kisii, and Kakamega, are currently covered by Safaricom’s 5G service. Kilifi, Kwale, Nakuru, Laikipia, Uasin Gishu, Garissa, Kericho, Marsabit, Meru, Nyeri, Siaya, and Vihiga are other regions.
Depending on the speed and data amount in the packages, Safaricom’s 5G services debuted with initial deals ranging from Ksh3,499 to Ksh14,999 per month.
The majority of 5G-ready phones are mid- to high-end smartphones with prices ranging from Ksh25,000 to over Ksh150,000, keeping them out of reach for most consumers.
Samsung Galaxy S, Fold, Huawei, and Oppo 5G smartphones, as well as other 5G-capable smartphones, are examples of smartphones that are currently supported.
Customers using Apple iPhones and specific Samsung devices that support 5G need a manufacturer-issued software upgrade in order to access the ultrafast network.
As the company works to address connection challenges that have for a long time hampered its users, Airtel has additional plans to add 349 network sites and anticipates completion by the end of the year. An additional 300 sites are also in the works.
According to Mittal, “Airtel’s network infrastructure currently covers more than 3,200 sites.” According to Mittal
Business Daily
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