Safaricom’s Fiber Journey: More Than Just Civil Works
If you read our last piece on why remote ONT management is the secret weapon of growth-focused ISPs, you’ll see exactly why Safaricom’s vendor strategy has been so effective. This article takes that conversation forward.
Safaricom’s rise as Kenya’s fiber market leader isn’t just about laying down kilometers of optical cable.
It’s about how they partnered with the right technology vendors to scale faster, simplify operations, and deliver consistent customer experiences.
At the core of this success story is a strategic use of Huawei and Nokia solutions, each serving different but complementary roles in Safaricom’s fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and broadband roadmap.
Huawei: The Accelerator of Fiber Rollout
Back in 2017, Safaricom selected Huawei’s FTTH solution to speed up deployment.
Huawei offered an end-to-end ecosystem, Optical Line Terminals (OLTs), Optical Network Terminals (ONUs/ONTs), fiber access equipment, and the integration layer.
This approach enabled Safaricom to:
- Cut time-to-market by reducing integration headaches
- Standardize customer equipment with Huawei ONTs that could be remotely managed via OMCI
- Scale customer acquisition rapidly in high-demand areas
Huawei’s turnkey package was about speed, and that was critical during Safaricom’s aggressive expansion phase.
Nokia: Efficiency, Flexibility, and the Long Game
But Safaricom didn’t just bet on one vendor.
Nokia came in to complement Huawei, bringing in expertise around:
- GPON/FTTx access optimization
- Energy-efficient networks to cut operational costs
- Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) solutions to extend broadband where fiber civil works were too slow or expensive
This dual-vendor strategy gave Safaricom flexibility. Huawei’s ONTs and rollout gear got fiber to the ground fast, while Nokia’s solutions optimized network operations and explored alternative broadband models.
Backbone Capacity: Preparing for Demand
As customer numbers grew, Safaricom reinforced its backbone with 400G transport networks, again partnering with Huawei.
This ensured the fiber access network had enough muscle behind it to handle exploding broadband traffic, especially as video streaming, gaming, and cloud services surged.
Why Vendor Strategy = Customer Retention
So, how does all this tie back to customer retention, the true battleground for ISPs?
- Remote ONT management: Vendor-supplied ONUs/ONTs that integrate smoothly with OSS/BSS systems mean fewer truck rolls, faster issue resolution, and smoother billing/activation.
- Operational diversity: By mixing Huawei and Nokia, Safaricom avoided vendor lock-in while leveraging the best of each world.
- Future-readiness: FWA and energy-optimized solutions mean Safaricom can serve customers beyond traditional fiber footprints without compromising quality.
The outcome is clear, Safaricom keeps churn low by solving customer problems before they become complaints, and that’s exactly how you hold market leadership.
👉 Want to understand why remote ONT management is the foundation of this success? Read our deep-dive on Why Remote ONT Management is the Secret Weapon of Growth-Focused ISPs.