New rules for laying internet cables

This man was spotted in Nakuru town on Kenyatta Avenue digging an underground tunnel to lay fibre cables. [Harun Wathari]

The ICT Ministry has moved to control the haphazard construction of fibre optic networks that have resulted in the repeated digging of roads and pedestrian walkways.

Telecommunication firms have in recent years been trying to outdo each other in putting up infrastructure that they hope will propel them to the next growth phase, with data and connectivity becoming key drivers.

This has, however, come at a great disadvantage to road users, with the trenches dug up for the laying of the cables rendering walkways and roads unusable.

To curb this menace, the ICT Authority will now require telcos to seek its approval first whenever they want to build a cable network before other approvals, including county licences.

“All new requests for metropolitan fibre installation should be channelled through the ICT Authority for consideration and approval before making applications to other authorities for permission and licences to develop additional infrastructure,” said the authority in a public notice yesterday.

The move by every operator to have their own infrastructure has been despite repeated calls for infrastructure-sharing, which would be cost-effective for operators while easing the deployment of wider-reaching networks.