Safaricom has been working hard to expand its fibre to the home network, which is said to have now passed through 200,000 households. The company has announced a partnership with Kenya Alliance of Residents Association (KARA), that would see Safaricom use its existing fibre to the home network and its cloud services to connect KARA member estates to a surveillance system.
The partnership was kicked off by a pilot project in Ngei Estate phase 2, in Langata. “We are cognizant of the increasing demand for security both in our homes and the environments we operate in and hence the reason we are happy to partner with KARA to transform lives of residents of the member estates,” said Steve Okeyo, Safaricom Regional Sales and Operations Director.
Mr Okeyo also pointed out that the CCTV surveillance will come as a new offering by the company in a move to diversify its services, “With the onset of fibre optic, we are looking to diversify our service offering and give customers a wide array of services as we roll out fibre to the home in different parts of the country,” he said.
Safaricom has laid out a fibre connection in Ngei Estate phase 2, where two surveillance cameras will be installed at each gate of the estate with one router at each gate. The CCTV cameras will be powered by a solar kit mounted on each gate, “Being champions of the Sustainable development goals, Safaricom is keen on clean and affordable energy and that is why this project will be fully powered by solar energy,” said Steve. The kit contains a solar panel, a charge controller and a battery. The surveillance feed will be accessible through Safaricom Cloud Services.
“The end goal, however, is to further boost FTTH uptake, “We hope that through such initiatives, other estates will be encouraged to invest in Home Fibre,” said Mr Okeyo.
