Kenya is set to enjoy faster Internet speed and lower charges on a new submarine cable with a combined capacity of all existing ones.
The 15,000km cable, called Peace, has a designed capacity of 16 terabyte per second fibre pair with 200 gigabyte per second per single wavelength, almost four times faster than the initial cable that landed at the Kenyan coast in 2009.
Speaking during the launch, ICT CS Joe Mucheru said the new cable is coming to enhance existing ones, bring efficiency and help in cutting high Internet costs in the country.
"This cable will disrupt the technology sector, improve speed and reduce costs to inspire socioeconomic development not just in Kenya but Africa," Mucheru said.
The latest survey on Internet costs by the World Internet Stats shows that, while Kenya has the second-highest Internet connectivity in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa, costs are almost five times compared to Europe.
It puts monthly Internet costs in Kenya at an average of Sh2,800 for 10mbps, way above the global average of Sh2,100.
Mucheru said high Internet cost is a barrier to innovation, adding that the government is working with the private sector to ensure quality and affordability.
This is the sixth submarine cable landing at the Kenyan Coast and is estimated to have cost $400 million, close to Sh46 billion.
The amount is five times more compared to the cost of the initial cable by Seacom that was launched in 2009.
IT expert and former ICT PS Bitange Ndemo lauded the launch of the new cable, saying it is poised to take Kenya to the next level of technological empowerment.
"The first cable we launched in 2009 is credited for several innovations that have put Kenya on the global map. Before then, we used to rely on satellite. We have come a long way," Ndemo said.
The cable is connecting Pakistan, Kenya, Egypt, France and countries along the way with an extension to Singapore and South Africa.
It was funded under Public Private Partnership courtesy of Telkom Kenya, Orange, Telecom Egypt, Cybernet, HMN Tech and PCCW Global.
Kenya is shaping up as a centre-stage for the ongoing scramble for Africa in the tech space, with international firms from Europe, America and Asia landing their marine cables at the Coast.
The country has now six such cables in the span of a decade, with the first one being by Seacom in 2009 followed by The Teams in 2010.
Others are Lion2, Eassy and Dare1, which are hosted by Telkom Kenya.
Telkom Kenya CEO Mugo Kibati said the company has a terrestrial backbone of 600km across the country, connecting at least 34 counties in Kenya and the neighbouring countries of Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia, Tanzania and Sudan.
