Kenya Kwanza Presidential candidate William Ruto, has promised to deliver 100,000 km of fiber optic highway anchored on electricity grid to speed growth and improve digitization across the country.
While speaking on Thursday, June 30 during the launch of his coalition’s manifesto in Kasarani, the deputy president stated that the fiber will be stretched from the current 10,000 to 100,000 within the next 5 years if he wins the presidential bid.
“We already have a 10,000-fiber optic backbone that goes all the way to every sub county and serves 60 percent of the population. In the next five years, we want to extend that to 100,000,” he noted.
Furthermore, DP Ruto promised to ensure that every home, school or hospital that will be attached to the grid will have internet connectivity so as to bridge the digital gap.
Also Read: Kenya Kwanza Manifesto: 116,000 Teachers To Be Employed Within 2 Years
“In five years, we will close the digital gap and every Kenyan will have access to the internet. The many young people who today are struggling with bundles and want to do their things on internet, they will have an opportunity to do so with ease,” added DP Ruto.
Nonetheless, statistics show that, by January 2022, there were 23.35 million internet users in the country however, internet penetration rate stood at 42.0 percent of the total population.
Moreover, internet users in Kenya improved by 1.6 million between the years 2021 and 2022 representing a 7.4 percent growth.
