CC image courtesy of Fabienne Serriere
The Kenyan government is planning to deliver higher internet speeds as a way of ensuring citizens can access government services in one portal.
Fred Matiangi, cabinet secretary for ICT, said rural areas will receive a minimum of 500Mbps, while urban areas will receive 2048Mpbs.
Speaking at the Oracle day, Matiangi said he believes through the internet the government can drive innovation and place the country on the global map.
The efforts, Matiangi added, will help create a knowledge based society within the national government as well as the devolved governments in the counties.
“All this is possible to achieve by having strategic partnerships with the private sector with well laid out SLAs,” Matiangi said.
The targets outlined by Matiangi today, appear more ambitious than those of the broadband strategy, which stipulates the government Kenya shall achieve a superflous stable connectivity with high internet connection speeds of up to 40Mbps in urban areas and 5Mbps in rural areas by 2017.
These speeds, the government had said, would allow internet users to enjoy seamless data, voice and video services seen as imperative towards the economic development of country using ICT.
“We must have broadband to be able to offer government services online and deliver ICTs to all corners of this country,” said Francis Wangusi, Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) director general. “This is the strategy that will transform Kenya into a knowledge-based society, driven by high-speed nationwide broadband network.”
