Orange Kenya, one of the East Africa’s leading telecom companies could launch the country’s first ever 3G Wi-Fi router before the end of the year.
The product, showcased during the SME expo early this month at Nairobi’s KICC, will see users experience fast and reliable Internet coverage within a radius of 30 metres.
The 3G Wi-Fi device resembles other Wi-Fi router but comes with a billing system. Users can changes the billing service to bill per data (MB) or per minute. This useful feature, analysts say, will see many individuals open Internet browsing businesses across the country.
Introduction of tools including the 3G modems has seen several people enter into the Internet coverage bracket; the problem of Internet coverage in various parts of the country has hindered Internet penetration.
In August last year, Orange Kenya launched a 21mbps 3G network alonside its first Wi-Fi router called the DLink Wifi Router. The router used the 3G modem to spread its signals as a Wi-Fi channel.
The new router will exclusively use an Orange SIM card. It will retail at around Ksh35000 once launched and will come with 10GB data for new customers. The launch date is yet to be made public although Orange Kenya says the device may hit the market within the year.
