Popular telecommunications provider; Telkom Kenya, has revealed that plans are on the way to increase and improve its 4G network coverage in Kenya. The news is coming at a time when its helium balloon powered internet partnership with Loon which is a company owned by Google’s parent company; Loon.
Alphabet made it known that its Loon program will be shut down because it is not commercially viable. It will be closed completely by the 1st of March 2021.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Telkom Kenya; Mugo Kibati said via a statement on Friday the 22nd of January 2021 that, “Telkom believes in taking bold decisions. It was very exciting, therefore, to partner with like-minded pioneers in the adoption and usage of innovative technologies such as Loon, with the aim of filling in the Internet access gaps in areas that were difficult to service.”
He added that, “We continue with our long-term terrestrial network expansion plan that is informed by our overall company strategy, which will see us scale up to 80 percent to 4G, increase our network footprint across the country and get more Kenyans online.”
Telkom had entered into a partnership with Google’s parent company; Alphabet, in order to provide the world’s first commercial high speed Internet via balloons situated at remote regions in Kenya. The project aimed to provide affordable 4G internet to rural communities that were otherwise underserved.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Loon; Alastair Westgarth said, “While we are sad to share that Loon’s journey is coming to an end, we are grateful to the Telkom team for their vision and partnership.”
The technology by Loon was intended to provide Internet to individuals living in rural areas that do not have adequate ground stations and or Fibre internet connections. Its technology then beams Internet connections from available ground stations to overhead balloons.
Next, the signal is sent across a network of other floating cell towers before delivering internet access directly to the mobile devices of users below.
Loon which has so far set up ground stations in Njeri county, Nakuru county and Nairobi county to aid in the transmission of internet signals to its overhead balloons, stated that it will be shutting down its service on the 1st of March 2021.
Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO); Alastair Westgarth said, “low enough to build a long-term, sustainable business.”
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