With new fibre-optic cable networks in place, Telkom Kenya hopes it will continue to defend its Internet market share in the country as it comes under pressure from competition from the mobile telephone companies. They are taking the web battle, literally, into people's homes. According to a company press release on Wednesday, the move to increase offerings on video conference and video streaming that requires large amounts of bandwidth, will allow the company to avoid the constant attack by individuals attempting to pirate free Internet services. According to press statements, the firm will be charging between Sh2,999 for two megabytes to Sh6,500 for eight megabyte. As part of the push, Telkm Kenya's Chief Executive Officer Michael Ghossein told reporters that the company plans on connecting homes in Nairobi before expanding to other parts of the capital as a litmus test for the success of the upgrades. “We want to reclaim our market leadership in data by connecting homes with fibre, which is more reliable compared to copper due to vandalism,” he said. “With speeds up to 8 MG per second, we now have a network easily scalable to transmit video signals just like it happens in developed countries,” Ghossein added. According to Telkom Kenya, it is currently holding negotiations with video service offering firms and hopes to target the high-end market before moving across the country. BM
