Kenya’s Essar Telecom May Skip 3G and Go Straight to LTE

According to a report by Agence Ecofin Essar Telecom Kenya (ETK), which offers services under the ‘yu’ brand, intends to invest directly in 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology and skip a 3G rollout altogether.

ETK country manager Madhur Taneja has suggested that it is already too late to start investing in 3G infrastructure when the rest of the world is moving towards 4G LTE.

saving the money set aside for a 3G licence and rollout, Taneja said that cash-strapped ETK will be able to participate instead in the government-approved LTE consortium which has been planned since November 2010.

That is once it has secured the necessary investment funding from its shareholders though. The company is 20% owned by local businessmen Peter Kibiriti and Jos Konzolo, and 80% by India’s Essar Group.

Country manager Madhur Taneja told The Star newspaper that it’s too late to start investing in 3G infrastructure when the rest of the world is moving to 4G.