Kenya’s next major connectivity opportunity may lie beyond its biggest cities, as growing demand for cloud services and other digital technologies pushes infrastructure providers to expand fibre networks into underserved and emerging areas.
According to Neeraj Pradhan, CEO of Liquid Intelligent Technologies Kenya, the country already has significant fibre infrastructure, but connectivity availability changes considerably once you move away from major urban centres.
“Kenya has enough fibre,” Pradhan said. “The fibre runs in tens of thousands of kilometres. The demand where we are seeing now is outside the urban centres.”
He said that even though fibre infrastructure is relatively widespread around Nairobi and other major urban areas, availability is limited further outside these centres.
Pradhan said Liquid’s approach to infrastructure investment is largely driven by customer demand and not building networks indiscriminately and waiting for customers to arrive.
“We follow the customer,” he explained, noting that the company looks at where businesses and other customers are investing in technologies that will increase demand for connectivity.
Liquid currently has between 10,000 and 12,000 kilometres of fibre in Kenya, according to Pradhan.
The company is also looking at emerging developments such as new real estate projects and industrial parks. Where such developments are located close to existing fibre infrastructure, Liquid can extend its network to serve them and position itself for future demand.
“When we see a customer coming up or investing in technology which will drive the consumption, we will follow.”
Nairobi remains the country’s largest connectivity market, with Pradhan pointing to the concentration of businesses and regional headquarters in the capital. Mombasa is another major demand centre, partly driven by its role as a key logistics and port hub.
However, Liquid is also seeing increased demand in Western Kenya, particularly along the transport corridor towards Uganda.
Pradhan said the company recently upgraded its route between Malaba and Busia in response to growing traffic along the corridor.
Fibre won’t be the answer everywhere
Pradhan does not see fibre as the only solution to Kenya’s connectivity needs.
He pointed to the increasing availability of 4G, 5G and satellite connectivity, particularly in areas where the economics of fibre deployment may not make sense.
“They are more complementing each other. They will never compete with each other because the consumer requirements are there.”
Can public Wi-Fi become sustainable?
Public Wi-Fi is another potential avenue for expanding access, but Pradhan believes its success will depend heavily on the economics and location of each deployment.
Liquid itself experimented with public Wi-Fi several years ago, including a pilot in Nakuru.
According to Pradhan, sustainable public Wi-Fi requires a secure location to host the infrastructure and reliable power.
Once those are available, different business models can be explored, including hourly and daily bundles. The appropriate model depends on the location and users.
“There is no one-size-fits-all kind of thing,” Pradhan said.
He added that partnerships between connectivity providers, government and other stakeholders could help make such deployments more sustainable.
Networks are ready for cloud demand
Despite the increasing adoption of cloud services, Pradhan does not believe Kenya’s networks currently need a fundamental redesign to accommodate the additional demand.
He said Liquid’s networks are already capable of supporting the growing requirements generated by cloud adoption.
The company has also developed solutions designed to optimise connectivity between customers and cloud destinations, including locations outside Africa.
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