Satellite Connectivity Can Help Expand Internet Coverage in Kenya, Africa

Tech growth in Kenya has been steadily growing as the country is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa and is quickly becoming a tech hub for East Africa. As Kenya is building its digital economy, a strong communications infrastructure is critical to the development of key sectors in the country.

However, there are areas in Kenya where there is no GSM coverage with voice and data services. It is rather difficult for these areas to have a strong communications infrastructure and be connected to the internet. This is where satellite connectivity comes in.

Satellite connectivity empowers those residing in areas that have no GSM coverage with voice and data services. Satellite technology is working alongside terrestrial networks to achieve major milestones in infrastructure investments and bring connectivity to remote regions as well.

This is why Osta Tech partnered wih IEC Telecom to bring satellite technology to Kenya. Osta Tech CEO and Owner, Oscar Mwai, talked to CIO Africa about the opportunities that satellite technology has in Kenya and how the technology can help Kenya in its digital transformation journey.

“We are committed to offering a comprehensive portfolio of satellite technology that includes tracking systems, specialized drone solutions, cyber security, and digital transformation services,” Oscar told CIO Africa, “with its partner IEC Telecom, OstaTech provides high-speed satellite connectivity over mobile handsets and value-added services for key sectors in East Africa such as government, education, healthcare, oil and gas, and agriculture – even those based in remote areas.”

With over a decade of security and technology experience specific to East Africa, OstaTech is well positioned to deliver a full spectrum of solutions from the installation and end-user training stages to the maintenance stage. Moreover, representing an international satellite service provider such as IEC Telecom in the East African region, gives OstaTech the flexibility to translate state-of-the-art communications solutions that are customized as per the business needs of its customers.

This is a significant and unique selling point for OstaTech services as it empowers its clients with access to reliable and easily adaptable satellite connectivity when and where they need it.

Oscar anticipates to improve the Education and Healthcare sectors in Kenya which require definite progress towards digitization. The onset of the pandemic has had a significant impact on both these sectors and satellite connectivity is a perfect fit to contribute to the development of a stable environment in both industries.

“Reliable connectivity enables the easy set-up of remote schools and clinics, saves on the time and cost involved in building a terrestrial infrastructure, and inherently has the flexibility to be customized as per the specific needs of the organizations in both sectors,” Oscar says “agriculture and military also benefit from vitalization of services with IoT solutions for smart agriculture that range from the monitoring of resource consumption to security assessments as well as portable equipment for rapid deployment needs.”

He further says that satellite connectivity does not compete with other internet connection that do not use satellite. Rather, satellite connectivity contributes to creating hybrid solutions and infrastructure to serve the main goal of digitizing a country.

“Complementary terrestrial and satellite networks enable wider coverage and easy access to remote areas that may take months or even years to fund,” Oscar Mwai told CIO Africa.

Satellite connectivity plays a major role in allowing countries to reach milestones much faster in an affordable way. Moreover, satellite technology keeps critical country-wide operations like data centres, banking, and military seamlessly running