Nairobi — African technology infrastructure company, iColo is banking on increased internet usage and young population to boost Kenya's internet connectivity as more carriers set up in the country.
Speaking during a media tour of the third iColo data center opened recently in Mombasa(MBA2), the firm's CEO Ranjith Cherickel said he expects 50 more carriers to be set up at its facility due to increased internet demand which has seen more carriers land their cables in the country.
According to Cherickel, the increased demand for data centers by carriers saw them build a third data center to be able to house them.
"We began building this data enter in March 2021 for a period of 11 months and as soon as we were done constructing in February 2022, we had clients," he said.
Cherickel said he expects the internet in Kenya to be centered in the Sh2 billion facility which has the capacity to host up to 1.8 megawatts(MW) of internet server power.
The facility also has enough cooling power to support the 1.8MW of power and distinct meet-me rooms which can allow various carriers to be hosted.
There has been an increase in the number of cables(carriers) landing on the Kenyan Coast, with the latest one being the PEACE cable.
The PEACE Cable is preceded by the Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1 (DARE 1), SEACOM, The East African Marine System (TEAMS), the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy), and the Lower Indian Ocean NetWork II (LION II).
Cherickel disclosed that the country is expecting the 2Africa cable to land soon on the Kenyan coast bringing the total to 7.
He said that Kenyans should expect improved internet efficiency, consume more data for less cost, and more services coming online as more carriers come into the country.
The latest survey on Internet costs by the World Internet Stats shows that, while Kenya has the second-highest Internet connectivity in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa, costs are almost five times compared to Europe.
It puts monthly Internet costs in Kenya at an average of Sh2800 for 10mbps, way above the global average of Sh2100.
With Kenya shaping up as the stage for the ongoing scramble for tech space in Africa by Silicon Savannah, Kenyans should expect cheaper data and faster connections in the future.
