This past January the  Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) presented the draft of their National Broadband Strategy for public review. The strategy outlines a comprehensive plan for bringing communications services and ICT business development to all of Kenya. Expected to cost US$ 2.4 billion, 70% is budgeted for national infrastructure while the remainder will be used for capacity building and content development. Funding will be a combination of public and private sources and will include accessing Kenya’s capital markets.

The National Broadband Strategy (NBS) was drafted during a high-level national workshop hosted by CCK October 14-19, 2012. The event took place during a week-long retreat in Naivasha, which was attended by a team of 50 public and private leaders including the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communications in Kenya. Integra Policy and Regulatory Specialist David Townsend also gave a keynote presentation to the participants and technical working groups.

The workshop capped off months of preparatory work. Integra consultants Muriuki Mureithi and David Townsend provided technical assistance including the completion of an internal work plan, proposing strategic objectives of the strategy framework, implementation planning of the development process and suggesting ideas for future projects. This work was done under USAID’s Global Broadband and Innovations Program (GBI), which includes providing technical assistance to Universal Service and Access Funds.

Integra worked alongside CCK over the past eight months as commission undertook a series of initiatives to improve its institutional capacity. Examples of such progress include stakeholder consultations with mobile network operators and Internet service providers, the constitution of a Broadband Strategy Steering Committee to oversee the development process, and the creation of technical working groups who helped draft the policy.

The work in broadband development and implementation compliments Integra’s previous work with CCK on their Universal Service Fund (USF). For Kenya’s USF, Integra also prepared a set of recommended priority Fund Programs, which CCK has accepted as the basis for implementation of the fund and future projects. The Commission plans to launch it’s first pilot project by the end of 2013.