The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) wants to hand over 5G licenses to the first mobile network operators by December 2022.
This is according to a released draft policy outlining the 5G implementation road map seen by Techspace Africa. The regulator is planning to commence the 5G trial networks in 3.5 giga-Hertz (GHz) to facilitate the deployment of the technology, enabling the country to derive maximum benefits from this new frontier.
The CA is also planning a 5G summit in January 2022 with the implementation of 5G pilot projects slated to kick off in May.]
Players in the industry will be able to access the 5G spectrum via auction from the regulator in august before mobile network operators are allowed to implement the network commercially in November.
“The goal of this roadmap is to facilitate implementation of 5G mobile technology for the benefit of the citizens, the economy, and industry at large and make Kenya a global leader in 5G mobile technologies,” the CA said.
CA says that Kenya is developing innovative new use cases for 5G with an aim of spurring social-economic growth and job creation.
Stakeholders, including licensed operators, equipment vendors, members of the public, consumer organizations, various government agencies, and interested organizations are invited to review and submit their written inputs and views indicating their specific proposals to the address indicated below or via email address spectrum@ca.go.ke on or before the close of day on 2nd November 2021.
The 5G switch is expected to enable more capable smartphones, faster and larger downloads, powerful streaming, and a bigger network of connected devices.
Safaricom already started trialing its 5G network after unveiling 15 sites, with plans to increase the number to 200 by the end of 2021 in preparation for a commercial rollout.
Airtel also announced an upgrade of more than 600 sites with an aim of making them 5G ready.
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