The execution of the project is scheduled to take three years and be priced at Ksh5 billion ($37 million), with funds coming from the Universal Service Fund, a state fund that uses CA license fees and grants to encourage access to ICT services throughout the country.
According to a CA statement, the initiative focuses mainly on neglected semi-arid and semi-arid areas (ASALs) in the country's northern, eastern, and coastal regions, where broadband connection is very limited and poverty levels are comparatively high.
CA Director-General Ezra Chiloba described the project as "phenomenal" and predicted that it will significantly transform the country in the next few years.
However, the project may jeopardize plans by the American satellite internet company Starlink, a subsidiary of Elon Musk's SpaceX company, which is hoping to establish a presence in Kenya by June of this year, focusing on unserved populations in distant places.
Starlink requires regulatory authorization from CA and other agencies before launching its services in the country. According to experts, its presence could revolutionize internet access in the region's outlying areas, which are not commercially appealing to private internet service providers (ISPs).
CA's decision to deploy fiber optic cable in Kenya's ASALs is expected to boost access to low-cost broadband internet in underserved and unserved areas, reducing Starlink's target market.
Currently, only 9.8 million Kenyans (9%) have access to broadband internet, the majority of whom live in metropolitan and semi-urban areas. Thirty-eight percent have dial-up internet, while up to 22 million individuals still do not have access to the internet.
