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Special Report: Rating Internet Service Providers in Kenya

July 27, 2021

A recent report on the quality of service of internet service providers across select African countries has been released. In this report, we will look at the Kenyan market according to the internet and connectivity speed tester Ookla in its market analysis for Kenya, ranking the country’s fastest internet service providers (ISPs).

The analysis only takes into account top providers of internet services in the country, ones which account for 3% or more of total test samples in the market in Q2 of 2021 – smaller providers are not tested.

All providers are ranked based on their Speed Score, which incorporates a measure of each provider’s download and upload speed to rank network performance (90% of the final Speed Score is attributed to download speed and the remaining 10% to upload speed because online experiences are typically more affected by download speed).

Ookla places the most emphasis on the median speeds as those represent what most network providers’ customers will experience on a day-to-day basis.

Kenyan ISPs Ranked by Fastest Fixed Broadband Internet Speed:

5. AccessKenya

Speed Score – 7.75

First established in 1995 as Commsol, later renamed AccessKenya in 2000. The firm is one of the country’s leading corporate ISPs with headquarters in Nairobi.

AccessKenya offers FTTB (Fibre-to-the-Business) options with speeds from 512Kbps at price on request in both monthly and yearly plans.

The company also ranked last in terms of mean latency and second last in terms of connection consistency.

4. Unwired Communications Limited

Speed Score – 8.83

An ISP based in Nairobi and founded in 2008. Unwired Communications is the leanest and youngest of Kenya’s top ISPs, with only about 25 regular employees.

The company provides cost-effective data services to both residences and businesses in Kenya through broadband internet, virtual private networks (VPNs) and even structured cabling solutions.

Their customer base is mostly wholesalers at 80%, with the remaining 20% being private residences. Unwired’s services can range from 1Mbps wireless from at little as Ksh50, up to 6Gbps lines. Its packages are flexible and customer-depending.

Unwired Communications ranked last in terms of connection consistency but ranked 1st in terms of least latency.

3. Telkom

Speed Score – 9.03

Established in Kenya in 1999, Telkom was one of the country’s first telecommunications providers. The semi-private company is 60% owned by Helios Investment partners with the rest of the shared owned by the Government of Kenya.

Telkom Kenya offers a wide range of products to customers, including Data Centre Solutions, Cloud, Managed Services, Connectivity, Broadband, Carrier-to-Carrier traffic and Backbone Infrastructure to corporates. Telkom also offers mobile data, mobile payment solutions and even devices.

Internet plans for private residences start at 5GB cap daily data for Ksh250, up to 100GB for 90 days at Ksh6000. Telkom Kenya’s 4G download speeds are around 53Mbps.

Telkom ranked 3rd for both connection consistency and latency.

2. Safaricom

Speed Score – 11.51

Ubiquitous Kenyan telecom group Safaricom is the uncontested leader for the country’s telecommunications sector.

Founded in 1993, Safaricom provides a large bouquet of services and solutions, from M-Pesa to mobile devices and all in-between.

Its home fibre packages start at Ksh2999 pm for 8Mbps, to Ksh13,549 pm for 100Mbps in its Diamond Plus fibre package that includes 5G mobile data as well.

Safaricom has the second most latency on its network but has the second-most consistent network connection.

Faiba

Speed Score – 23.19

The fastest ISP in Kenya by a significant amount, according to Ookla’s Speed Score.

Faiba is the fibre optics internet branch of Jamii Telecommunications Limited. It offers FTTH (Fibre-to-the-home) and FTTB plans.

Home plans start at 30Mbps for Ksh5250 pm, up to 125Mbps for Ksh21,000 pm. Business plans start at 15Mbps for Ksh10,000, to 100Mbps for Ksh55,000.

Faiba also has the most consistent connection by a wide margin and has the second least latency out of the other top Kenyan ISPs.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Why Broadband is Critical to the Success of Small Businesses

February 15, 2021

By Dumisani Bengu

In an age where a business is now largely conducted online, access to reliable and fast internet connection is now more important than ever. Due to COVID-19, supply chain systems and customer service have moved online, and business broadband is playing an essential role in making this happen.

**Dumisani Bengu is the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Telkom Business**

The pandemic has escalated the need for more SMMEs to embrace fast and reliable internet connection for selling their products, engaging with customers, marketing and communicating with suppliers and this is where business broadband comes in.

Business broadband may be considered more costly than home broadband on a rand and cents basis; however, it is cost-efficient and inexpensive when you consider the value-added services that often come with business broadband packages which are of great value for small-medium enterprises.

This kind of broadband is packaged with tools and instruments that are tailored for each enterprise that includes security features and various software packages that help protect company data against cyberattacks.

Through the fast internet connectivity provided by business broadband, small businesses can do daily transactions, sell solutions while providing business owners with cost-efficient and easy access to the digital economy.

Higher speeds

Compared to home broadband, business broadband offers higher speeds, creating stronger and reliable connectivity. Standard broadband consists of speeds up to 30 Megabytes per second (Mbps) and lower and it is found in technologies such as DSL and older dial-up systems.

Super-fast broadband speed can go up to 300Mbps from 30Mbps, a preferable speed for most businesses needing reliable and fast internet for normal day-to-day business. Ultra-fast fibre is the gold standard of broadband connectivity with speeds of more than 300MBps and some industry players can go up to 1G per sec.

Ultra-fast fibre should be considered by businesses largely in fields such as data science, digital ecosystems, eCommerce and others whose core products and value propositions are distributed digitally.

Innovations requiring high bandwidth and lower latency

Businesses push through a lot of data through broadband access and speed is imperative. As technology develops, there are a lot of solutions in other verticals, such as smart offices, distributed energy supply such as renewables, close circuit plant monitoring systems, etc and it is only a matter of time before they proliferate South African market and broadband speed is going to be a distinguishing factor.

Customisation

Business broadband users have other customer-specific solutions such as dedicated lines to your business which will not be shared with others in the area to avoid throttling the speed. Customers get a dedicated IP address, providing reliable access points when using tools such as VPN.

Through business broadband packages, one may also access multiple voice access points on your device, depending on the needs. It also provides voice access at competitive rates as IP voice is more cost-effective.

The challenges of setting up broadband in areas with little infrastructure

The lack of infrastructure in rural and remote areas presents a great challenge in terms of bringing strong and reliable connection to small businesses in such areas. Service providers have various challenges in setting up broadband networks in rural areas, including uneven terrain and sparse populations, among others. But these challenges can be addressed by actively engaging in government and private sector partnerships.

The future of business broadband

Broadband is a crucial driver of job creation and economic growth. The applications enabled by the Internet are especially important for small businesses because they have become crucial platforms for innovation in healthcare, education, entrepreneurship, and communications. Business broadband will play an important role in the future of business productivity, growth, customer service and customer experience.

Dumisani Bengu is the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Telkom Business

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Internet Society Foundation Offers $300,000 in Grants for Projects that Promote Benefits of the Internet

December 20, 2019

To show that the Internet is a major force for good of humanity and promote the use of the Internet to transform lives and make positive impacts on the society, the new Internet Society Foundation has issued its first set of medium and large grants ranging from $12,000 to USD $30,000 each to 13 ground-breaking projects that seek to spread the benefits of the Internet around the world. Of the more than 40 applications received this year, 13 projects were selected by a committee that evaluated projects based on criteria that included originality and innovation, community impact and sustainability and technical feasibility, among others.

The projects in Africa selected for grants are $30,000 to create Wi-Fi access points and an off-the-grid Media Center within the Mamaila Tribal Authority, South Africa. The project will also build community capacity through training on cybersecurity, content development, entrepreneurship, and the construction, operation and maintenance of community networks. This aims to empower unemployed youth to organize themselves into cooperatives to advance their socio-economic aspirations and expand the planned network infrastructure.

The second one is a $12,322 that will go towards creating community networks for 5,000 people in three remote farming communities and awareness-raising in Madagascar. The project will also provide technical training and basic Internet skills to a group of people who will train others to use the Internet to capture practical information for their economic development such as on weather forecasts that can impact harvests and the prices of the agricultural products they sell.

The third grant for Africa is the $30,000 for the generation of reliable statistical data on Internet use in Mali, in particular on the use/misuse of social media, which has become popular in both rural and urban areas. Most existing data has been produced by telecoms operators, for commercial ends, and results have not been made widely accessible. The results of this project, however, will be widely available through its publication and dissemination.

The Internet Society Foundation provides grants to the Internet community, Internet Society Chapters, non-profits and individuals working on one or more of areas such as the initiatives that build community capacity to access and benefit from the Internet; this includes digital literacy skills, reaching unconnected populations, awareness-raising and local content-production. Initiatives that respond to natural disasters; opportunities for research across technical, economic and public policy topics; initiatives that demonstrate innovative techniques to advance an Internet for all; and local and regional projects supported by the groups nearly 140 Chapters (Beyond the Net).

The Internet Society established the Internet Society Foundation to fund projects that will improve the quality of people’s lives everywhere. The Foundation awards grants to Internet Society Chapters as well as non-profit organizations and individuals dedicated to providing meaningful access to an open, globally connected and trusted Internet for everyone.

For those who are interested in participating in the Internet Society Foundation’s next call for grant applications in early 2020. More information on future calls for grants can be found at: http://bit.ly/2PvLrW2.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Sub-Saharan Africans Least Connected to the Internet Globally

November 17, 2019

Africa will lose out of the 4th Industrial Revolution if efforts are not made to ensure that more of its people have access to the internet. This was the submission from analysts after the recent report from the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, which shows that sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of people offline out of the 3.6 billion without access to internet connections globally. According to a press release accompanying its latest report, ITU data showed that while the digital gender gap has been shrinking in the Commonwealth of Independent States and Europe, it is growing in the Arab States, Asia-Pacific and especially in the Africa region.

Secretary General of ITU Houlin Zhao — Secretary General of ITU,Houline Zhao

It is widest in developing countries, especially Least Developed Countries (LDC), the report which highlighted the digital gender divide added. ITU’s Measuring digital development reports are a powerful tool to better understand connectivity issues, including the growing digital gender divide, at a time when over half of the world’s population is using the Internet.

According to the Report Africa region has offline population of over 71% whiles Europe has the lowest of 17.5%. Breaking this down, the report noted that Europe region has the highest Internet use (82.5 per cent), while Africa region has the lowest (28.2 per cent). Internet use in developed countries is nearing saturation levels, with close to 87 per cent of individuals online.

The Report notes that by the end of 2019, ITU estimates that 57 per cent of households globally will have Internet access at home while computers are expected to become less important to households thanks to smart phones. Also an estimated 4.1 billion people are using the Internet in 2019 which reflects a 5.3 per cent increase compared with 2018. Between 2005 and 2019, the number of Internet users grew on average by 10 per cent every year but about 3.6 billion people around the world still lack online access.

Speaking on the development, the Secretary General of ITU Houlin Zhao said that “ITU’s Measuring digital development reports are a powerful tool to better understand connectivity issues, including the growing digital gender divide, at a time when over half of the world’s population is using the Internet,” adding that the “ITU statistics help policy-makers and regulators make informed policy decisions to connect the unconnected and track progress at the global level.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

AFRICA NEEDS BROADBAND FOR FASTER ECONOMIC GROWTH

October 24, 2019

THE question of broadband internet infrastructure is at the core of Africa’s overall development. Panellists at the seminar on Connecting Africa Through Broadband which took place on the sidelines of the just concluded IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington D.C. USA, contend that the earlier the 54 nations on the continent are able to cue into the universal trend, the faster the pace of development of Africa.

With experts drawn from different fields and countries, the importance of broadband internet accessibility to Africans was dissected and projected as the panacea to its advancement in health, education, and technology.

One of the panellists, Aurelie Adam Soule Zoumarou, Benin Republic’s Minister of Digital Technology, said that though her country is a small, it is propelled by a monumental vision to work towards digitalisation. She was optimistic that with the determination of the people and the unflinching support of the country’s policy makers, it’s just a matter of time before a functional broadband infrastructure becomes a reality in Benin Republic.

The discussants were inspired by a report titled: Connecting Africa through Broadband: A Roadmap for Inclusive Growth. The report, one of the first to quantify the cost of bridging the broadband gap in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, calls for urgent action to close the internet gap while providing a roadmap and action plan for reaching universal broadband connectivity in Africa by 2030.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

India Offers to Help Nigeria on Rural Internet Connections

July 17, 2019

Nigeria’s aspiration for universal internet coverage has received a boost with the materialization of a $100 million loan from the Government of India.

The facility arranged by the EXIM Bank of India is the result of a close collaboration between the India High Commission in Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Communications. The deal was facilitated by the immediate-past Minister, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu, who had promised a 70 percent broadband penetration by 2021.

The loan from India is expected to accelerate the deployment of solar-based mobile telephone sites in the country’s vast rural areas. Officials of the communication ministry privy to the details of the plan said no fewer than 1,000 sites can be built within 12 months once the two countries seal the agreement.

The credit facility from India is expected to be devoted to financing Nigeria’s Rural Broadband Network and the deployment of robust masts that will rely on alternative power sources, especially solar power. The plan is hinged on the government’s determination to extend telephone services to all rural communities at a relatively affordable cost while ensuring that identified bottlenecks experienced in urban areas are minimized.

Early this year, Shittu had disclosed that the government was desirous of fast-tracking the implementation of the National Broadband Roadmap by rapidly deploying less-expensive telecoms masts in the rural and remote areas. The plan, he explained, would provide access to telephone services and rapidly increase broadband penetration in hitherto hard-to-reach regions of the country.

The latest statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has indicated that broadband subscription stood at 63.2 million while actual broadband penetration increased to 33.13 percent in May this year.

“I am optimistic that if we put all the current efforts together, in another two years, we should be able to attain 70 percent. My ambition is two years rather than the five years being postulated,” the former minister said at a conference organized by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria in February this year.

The minister premised his hope on the $100million loan from India, saying: “The current mast that the telecom operators use is very expensive to maintain. They rely on electricity, and we do not have electricity all around the country. So we have a situation where somebody who wants to build a mast of N40million would also have to acquire a 200KVA generator and fuel it.

“For this reason, we have redirected our effort at getting solar-based masts which will also have 50km radius so that if you have a land area of 100km, you will have two masts. It is cheap to maintain and all operators can depend on it, rather than having the rural operators to construct their own masts or lay their own cables.

“We are doing all of these, and I believe that within the next two months, we should have an approval from the Indian Government for work to commence on deploying this to all rural areas in Nigeria”

Figures from the NCC indicate that there are about 120 million internet users in Nigeria, most of them in the urban areas. Internet penetration is a little above 33 percent, although the commission is working with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to introduce Television White Space to further deepen broadband penetration.

Although the Nigerian communications industry has attracted huge investments of recent, experts believe that a robust telecommunications network is important for economic growth in the country. Indeed, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Dandatta, has noted that while the present portfolio of $68 billion investment in Nigeria is huge, it is by no means adequate for one of the fastest-growing telecommunications markets in the world.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

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Internet Fraud Hits Kenya Hard – $300 Million Stolen

May 20, 2019

Internet fraud is hitting Kenyan businesses hard. The case was worst in 2018, according to a new report by cybersecurity firm Serianu.
Over Sh29.5 billion was lost to cybercrime and related activities last year as criminals stepped up attacks on banks, Saccos and government agencies.

Key Breakdown Of Facts And Figures

The funds were lost through direct theft or indirect expenses linked to cybercrime.

Financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies, and micro-finance institutions were the most affected group.

Government agencies also topped the list of targeted institutions as criminals sought out critical personal data to exploit.

Also See: Kenyan Loan Guarantors May Soon Be Hard To Be Sued

KSh230 million was lost through personal computer fraud

KSh100 million through business emails — an attempt to trick someone into giving information over the Internet or by email that would allow someone else to take money from them.

KSh70 million through fake cheques, and;

KSh66 million in identity theft.

Sh97 million and Sh72 million was lost through hacking of transaction channels and identity theft respectively.

“From our survey, we estimated the cost of cybercrime in Kenya at Sh29.5 billion for 2018, which is 40 per cent increase from the Sh21 billion reported over a similar period in 2017,” explained Serianu Chief Executive Wiliam Makatiani.

Internet Frauds

While it seems a field day for the internet fraudsters, one important point to note here is that it appears that instruments of law, policies and regulations are proving less effective in the efforts to check online frauds in Kenya.

Just in 2017, the Central Bank of Kenya issued a guidance note on Cyber Security to public institutions.

Among other things, the guidelines provide for the minimum requirements for businesses to prevent cybercrime, one of which is interestingly, that the members of the board of a company should understand cybersecurity matters and possible threats to the business.

Boards of companies are also expected to establish or review cybersecurity risk ownership and management accountability and assign ownership and accountability to relevant stakeholders; the coverage should include relevant business lines and not just the IT function.

The Central Bank of Kenya also demands that companies perform regular checks to ensure they are safe from cyber theft.

And it doesn’t seem the institutions in Kenya have failed to comply.

In fact, the report said that financial players, including banks, insurance companies and Saccos, spent Sh6.4 billion on protective measures.

Government agencies and private service providers, including telcos and sports betting companies, on the other hand, spent Sh5.9 billion and 4.8 billion respectively. According to Serianu, while more companies are reporting cybercrime attempts and even losses, many cite the lack of adequate personnel as the biggest challenge to complying with industry standards.

(c) ResearchGate

Earlier in 2019, Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) released the names and faces of more than 100 individuals linked to the theft of millions of shillings from several commercial banks in Kenya.

Communications Authority of Kenya (CA)’s data shows that cases of online theft aimed at both individuals and institutions over the last quarter of last year increased by 168 per cent.

Malware attacks recorded a 400 per cent increase from 1.8 million between July and September last year to nine million recorded between October and December, with a majority of cases targeting smartphone users.

“The quarter saw an exponential increase in the number of malware attacks as well as the number of misconfigured systems,” said the CA in the latest sector statistics report.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh, a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.