Liquid Telcom Boss on Improving Internet Accessibility and Affordability

Dennis Kahindi is the Chief Executive Officer of Liquid Telecom Uganda, an independent data, voice and IP provider in eastern, central and southern Africa. The company supplies fiber optic, satellite and international carrier services to Africa’s largest mobile network operators, ISPs and businesses of all sizes. In Uganda, Liquid Telecom is only four years old after buying out Infocom.

Mr. Kahindi spoke to ChimpsReport’s Sharon Kyatusiimire about the Company’s Operations and the future of Internet in Uganda.

Tell us about Liquid Telecom?

Liquid Telecom is a private internet service provider that is part of a Pan African Network operating in 13 countries. We operate the largest fiber network that stretches over 70,000kms from Cape Town in South Africa to Cairo, Egypt. We have also recently embarked on building the network from East to West; from Addis Ababa to Dakar.

What products/Services do you offer in Uganda?

We offer a range of connectivity solutions, from Wholesale internet services to direct Internet access for the Enterprise and connectivity to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). We also offer Fixed Broadband Access and Fiber to the home (FTTH) as well as wireless services to hostels, restaurants and hotels.

However, that is basically what every other internet provider is offering. What sets us apart further is the extra value that we offer on top of the internet connectivity. For instance, for our enterprise connectivity for offices, we also offer Microsoft Azure and O360 for productivity as a Cloud Service Partner.

The Ugandan government has been working hard to put in place more infrastructure to enable connectivity around the country. How is liquid Telecom helping out in this area?

The government through National Information Technology Authority (NITA) Uganda has been extending fiber connectivity to the whole of Uganda. In some locations in Northern Uganda, Liquid Telecom is partnering with NITA U to offer the last mile solution of the National Backbone Infrastracture (NBI) to our customers.

We have also made strategic investments in this sectoring, leveraging our Public Infrastructure Provider license to build over 1000km of fiber to enable us deliver backhaul and last mile connectivity for enterprises and some private citizens.

What is Liquid Telcom focusing on at the moment?

Since Liquid Telecom bought out Infocom 4 years ago, which was basically an urban internet service provider, our focus has been to expand not only our fibre infrastructure but also wireless connectivity to more regions in Uganda.

The cost of internet is presumably still expensive, what are you doing to help small business have access to affordable internet? 

Even now, enterprises have access to affordable internet, although affordability is relevant depending on how far a country is from the submarine cable. Countries that are close to the coast will always have relatively cheaper prices than the far inland locations. This is mainly because of the distance we have to cover to get to the areas.

To bring the cost down, we need to expand connectivity so that we get more consumers which will in the long run reduce the final cost of Internet. Liquid Telecom has enough internet to serve the whole country if connectivity is available

What do you think needs to be done to drive Internet connectivity and Penetration in Uganda?

According to UCC, the penetration of Internet in Uganda is at about 48%, while Kenya stand at 78%. We can also get to this number if we concentrate on creating more access for users. What is clear is that the challenge is not a pricing thing as much as it is an infrastructure thing. As stakeholders continue to invest in infrastructure, the cost of the Internet will only continue to go lower, this is something to which we are committed.

What is liquid Telecom doing to improve Internet reliability?

We have invested in redundancy links to ensure service uptime, in line with our key priority of ensuring customer delight and ensure Quality of Service with a promise of 99.99% service availability.

The internet of things and artificial intelligence, is Uganda ready?

As a country, in the context of living in a global village, we no longer have the luxury of saying this technology will come to us when we are ready. We are living in a global village and have to move as fast as the rest of the world.

As a matter of fact, Ugandans have been ready for a long time; the internet providers are ready for the 4th industrial revolution. Any delays now are due to regulations and once these are in place, as Liquid Telecom, we are ready to deploy these solutions to tourism, agriculture and many other areas. We already have pilot projects ongoing in Kenya, Rwanda and we are waiting to embark on the same in Uganda

Where do you see Liquid Telecom in 10 years?

Access to high-speed broadband is providing the foundations for digital growth and innovation across the continent.  Start-ups and businesses in Africa are experimenting with emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data Analytics and Blockchain, that have the potential to solve African problems and improve lives. We are improving cloud capabilities across the region – providing both the infrastructure and tools to accelerate digital innovation. Approximately 20% of Africa’s population is aged between 15 and 24, marking the region as the youngest in the world. We recognize that the development of digital skills will be critical to both their future and a successful digital economy. We are finding new ways to support Africa’s thriving tech start-up ecosystem, and already provide access to high-speed internet and cloud-based services to many of the region’s innovation hubs, start-up competitions and academic institutions. Over the next 10 years, Liquid Telecom will be that much close to building Africa’s digital future.