Nairobi — Telecommunications service provider, Wananchi Group, has unveiled Kenya's first triple play cable- a value added retail product.

Known as Zuku, the cable comprises television, internet broadband and telephony.

Wananchi Group chief executive Euan Fannell during the launch said that the firm is taking advantage of the recently launched unified licensing scheme to roll out a product that enables consumers to enjoy three services from one cable.

The product is a result of the group's expansion of its cable services that saw it acquire Mitsumi TV, a cable TV network.

Through the Africa Telecom Media and Technology Fund, the company has also acquired a 10 per cent stake in the Teams fibre optic cable, whose bandwidth capacity will enable it to set up a video streaming and conferencing network.

"Our goal in Kenya is to migrate from dial-up to wireless broadband. This should be in place by early next year," said Mr Fannell.

The company is setting up WiMax base stations in Nairobi and Mombasa and plans to have rolled out at least 100 base stations by November.

Currently, more than 20 base stations have been rolled out. Through Mitsunet TV, the group is targeting 300,000 homes in Nairobi and 100,000 homes in Mombasa.

Subscribers will have access to 90 channels at prices ranging from Sh800 to Sh3,000.

The service will soon be available in Tanzania after the group recently acquired a broadband and VSAT provider in Dar es Salaam.

"In more advanced economies such as Western Europe, North America and Southeast Asia, triple play tends to be the platform within which the fiercest battles are fought, and Kenya - with the launch of Zuku, is poised to deliver similar consumer benefits," said the chief executive.

Elsewhere, winners of this year's ICT excellence Awards by the Computer Society of Kenya will be known on November 25, 2008.

Speaking at a Nairobi Hotel on Tuesday during the inauguration of the team of analysts to be involved in the grading exercise, CSK chairman Waudo Siganga said that information technology will soon prop up the entire economy.