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Kenya launches school broadband connectivity project

Xinhua, April 24, 2017 Adjust font size:

Kenya on Monday launched a school broadband connectivity project that aims to improve the level of information communication technology (ICT) skills in the country.

Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) Chairman Ngene Gituku said the project will ultimately provide connectivity to all the 9,942 secondary schools and some selected tertiary institutions in Kenya.

"Phase one targets to connect 896 public secondary schools across the 47 counties in Kenya," Gituku told journalists in Nairobi.

The project is the beginning of a long journey toward building a digitally inclusive society that places ICTs firmly at the center of socio-economic development, Gituku said.

The Communications Authority has finalized the tendering process for the project and three service providers have been competitively selected to provide broadband connectivity under phase one.

The broadband project was launched after a 2016 ICT Access Gaps Study commissioned by the Communications Authority indicated that that 5.6 percent of the population, or about 2.66 million people, have no access to telecommunication services.

The research recommended that in order to address the prevailing disparities in access to ICT services, Kenya should provide high-speed Internet connectivity to public secondary schools in the country.

Gituku said the project will be funded by the Universal Service Fund, which was established by law to finance regulatory interventions toward ensuring universal access to ICT services across the country. Endit