Residents disappointed as free Wi-Fi connection fails

By KARANJA NJOROGE

Nakuru, Kenya: The recent launch of free Wi-Fi for Nakuru town was spectacular. Residents’ excitement was palpable as Nakuru was poised to join a club of a select few towns in the world with free Internet.

Eager to enjoy free Internet, majority of residents frantically called the county government and media houses to enquire how they could access it. Nakuru town had joined Kigali, Rwanda and the City of Tshwane in South Africa as three cities in Africa with free Wi-Fi connection.

Excitement, however, turned to despair after the tech-savvy residents realised they could not access the much-hyped service barely a day after its colourful launch.

The hitches being experienced in executing the noble initiative threaten to leave County Government officials and State House Digital team Director Dennis Itumbi with egg on their face.

Students have expressed frustration over the project’s failure to take off. “They have been saying it is just a small hitch, but I have never been able to access Internet since its launch,” a college student, Martha Wanjiku said.

Like most other residents, she said though the signal of the Nakuru Bila Waya sectors has been appearing on her mobile phone, there was no Internet connectivity. “The signals are there, but access is almost impossible, as most of the time they are out of range,” she said.

The project suffered another blow after Information Communication Technology (ICT) Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i, while visiting Nakuru last week, distanced the national government from the purported free Internet connection.

He said the national government was not collaborating with the county government in the project’s implementation, as it was purely a county affair. “The WI-FI connectivity is a Nakuru County Government initiative to be implemented by the county. The national government is not aware of effectiveness of the project,” he said after attending a fund raising service at Crater Seventh Day Adventist Church in Nakuru town.

Pilot project

Itumbi was the brains behind the initiative. He said it was a pilot project for the planned rollout of free Wi-Fi to other counties. Kisumu was destined to be next. Entrepreneurs in Nakuru town had welcomed the project as a boost to tourism, local investment and research, especially in higher learning institutions.

But county government officials and Itumbi have been quick to dispel fears that the project was cleverly designed public relations gimmick. Nakuru County Executive in charge of ICT, Stephen Maritime down played the connectivity problem, terming it one of the teething problems expected in a major project.

“There are warranty issues, which have delayed the repair, but our engineers are working round the clock to have the problem rectified,” he told The Standard on Sunday on telephone.

County officials have also indicated that plans are underway to bring more Internet Service Providers on board to supplement the current sole provider. Itumbi said the connection currently covers only 52 per cent of Nakuru town’s CBD but would progressively cover other areas. “We have connected 52 per cent and hope to cover the remaining 48 per cent by April,” he said.

But the 52 per cent, has failed, forcing Itumbi to use social media to ward off critics. He attributed the system collapse to congestion, saying they had anticipated 200,000 hits a day, but got double the number.

Angry residents who feel the much-touted project miserably failed to live to expectations have taken to the social media to vent their frustrations. “It was a hoax and we feel let down. Why did they have to raise public expectations knowing they would not deliver,” a college student, Meshack Bosire said on social media.

Rugby fans who trooped to the town for this year’s 10-aside rugby extravaganza were surprised after failing to enjoy the free connectivity despite the hype. “I had hoped to enjoy free Internet during my three-day visit during the Easter holiday. I had been made to believe it was there,” a rugby enthusiast at the Nakuru Athletics Club lamented.

Governor Kinuthia Mbugua sanctioned the project when he signed a partnership with State House Digital team led by Itumbi five weeks ago in his office.

The partnership was also to see the development of the Nakuru County website and the establishment of a Digital Impact Centre. The website is to help residents engage the leadership easily to improve transparency and service delivery.

Speaking during the launch, the Governor said the free WI-FI would herald rapid access to information, which is important for economic development.

“We are privileged as the first county to launch free Wi-Fi. Let us utilise it to access useful information we may use to transform the county as a regional business hub,” he said.

Most residents thought the project was part of Jubilee Coalition rolling out its promise of connecting five major towns across the country to the World Wide Web as promised during campaigns.

Clear avenue

Banks are also expected to benefit from the free Wi-Fi with customers also expected to use Internet banking to settle bills while transacting business within the town.

Itumbi had said the partnership with the Nakuru County government would also give a clear avenue for tapping, rewarding and developing the county’s innovations.

“This will facilitate public participation on government operations, democratic space and research among other benefits and will not cost the taxpayers money as it will be facilitated by well-wishers and volunteers,” Itumbi said. The cost of the project is estimated to be Sh200 million but the county government has said no public funds were used on it. Itumbi confirmed the funds have been raised by volunteers.

If the project could have successfully taken off, learning institutions in the town could have also benefitted.

It remains to be seen how the uncertainty surrounding the project will impact on four other major towns, which were to benefit from the digitisation programme.

Figures by the Communication Commission of Kenya indicate that over 72 per cent of Kenyans lack Internet access.

In a move to address poor Internet connectivity quality in the country, Matiang’i last year announced plans to increase Internet speeds. According to the CS, rural areas will receive a minimum of 500Mbps, while urban areas will receive 2048Mbps.