By Talk Africa Correspondent
Internet service provider Liquid Telecom has today announced it is connecting the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) headquarters to all 47 of its regional offices over the next two weeks to boost digital growth.
According to the internet provider, access to the high-speed internet will accelerate road bidding, commissioning and reduce costs for the agency, allowing it to focus more funds on road construction.
The new connection will facilitate the complete digitization of KeRRA’s operation through an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform that will be accessible from all 47 regional offices and the headquarters, and enhanced communication between the branches through Voice over Internet (VoIP) services.
KeRRA’s 47 regional offices will be connected to a Wide Area Network on MPLS with a 2Mbps capacity, while the headquarters will have an aggregated 40Mbps internet link.
“Our comprehensive point of presence (PoP) network across Kenya means we can now provide networks for organizations at enormous speed. We are providing last mile connectivity through fiber links to three of Kerra’s offices and its headquarters, while four more are located in fiber ready areas. A further 23 will be served by high-speed wireless broadband links and 13 with radio internet links,” said Francis Otieno, National Account Manager at Liquid Telecom Kenya.
The impact of the network on KeRRA’s efficiency will be far-reaching, enabling the agency to access and identify the best-suited contractors for rural road building and renovations in just a few clicks after the closing of bidding.
“We are looking to improve on efficiency by connecting and harmonizing all our internal functions, across IT, finance, and human resource management, and achieve an end-to-end platform with a minimum human interface for maximum efficiency in our service delivery,” said Fred Bitta, KeRRA’s ICT Manager.
The new communications platform will also increase the speed of decision making at the authority, “The new connectivity across all our regional offices and headquarters will allow us leverage on digital platforms and solutions, such as video conferencing and VoIP to enhance and speed up information sharing,” added Bitta.
Poor roads remain the single largest barrier between millions of small-scale farmers and the marketplace, despite agriculture accounting for over 60% of Kenya’s employment and contributing over 45% of government revenues.
The repositioning of KeRRA is one of a series of new contracts for Liquid Telecom, secured following its infrastructure investment in all 47 of Kenya’s counties.
“Achieving reach into every corner of Kenya has positioned us to be able to offer national solutions in a way that is increasingly transforming lives – be it Wi-Fi in schools, the laying of fiber with Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO) and now in connecting KeRRA nationwide,” said Adil El Youssefi CEO Liquid Telecom Kenya.
“Liquid Telecom is committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9 of building resilient infrastructure to promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. We will continue to collaborate and achieve partnerships across every sector to that end,” he said.
As the country’s single largest Internet Service Provider (ISP), Liquid Telecom Kenya is committed to achieving digital transformation by connecting organizations and individuals to its purpose-built network in the shortest time possible, and with high-speed connections offering the maximum reliability.
