Nokia and Safaricom have joined forces to launch the first 5G commercial services in East Africa. According to the companies, Nokia’s 5G Single Radio Access Network (SRAN) technology and 5G FastMile gateways will enable ultra-fast Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services to Safaricom’s subscribers across Kisumu and the Western Province of Kenya.
5G technology is expected to enable new applications in areas such as virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence for Safaricom subscribers. It will also benefit enterprises across important energy, healthcare, education, transport and entertainment applications.
“We are proud to be the first operator in East Africa to launch 5G services, bringing the benefits of 5G technology to our customers. 5G capabilities will change a lot of things in unimaginable ways for people and enterprises, playing a key role in fulfilling our vision to transform lives,” says Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom.
“Our long-term partner Nokia’s technologies and services expertise helped us achieve this milestone in our journey to provide world-class broadband services to our customers.”
At the launch in Nairobi, Safaricom showcased the capabilities of the 5G network with three use cases – 5G hologram, Ultra-HD video communication and virtual fashion shopping.
“With over 200 commercial 5G agreements with leading customers across the globe, Nokia has been bringing 5G network to every part of the world,” says Amr K. El Leithy, SVP of Nokia Middle East and Africa.
“Our 5G network for Safaricom is a key part of this journey and we are committed to working with the operator to transform the communications landscape in the country. This will open new business opportunities for Safaricom.”
