Kenya’s biggest telecoms operator Safaricom started trials for 5G high-speed internet last year across various parts of the country. Today, Safaricom has officially launched what they are calling commercial 5G. This new product seeks to provide fixed 5G WIFI to homes and businesses, similar to what they offer with 4G for Homes and Businesses.
Safaricom 5G Home WI-FI Availability
Now, unlike Safaricom’s 4G Home Fibre, customers don’t have to be in fibre ready areas. To hope onto Safaricom’s 5G network you’ll need to purchase their 5G enabled routers for around Ksh 25,000. These routers access Safaricom’s 5G networks and redistribute it to your devices as Wi-Fi.
There’s also a 36-month contract if you feel like paying the full Ksh 25,000 upfront is a bit too much. If you happen to take this route, you’ll get the 5G router for free then pay for it over a period of 36 months. You’ll need to be credit vetted by Safaricom first, details on how they plan on doing this have not been made public yet.
You will also have to pay KES 5,000 for delivery, setup and installation of the router. This applies whether you decide to pay the Ksh 25,000 upfront or over the specified period.
Is Your Location 5G covered?
Before committing to Safaricom’s 5G Wi-Fi you need to check whether your area is covered by Safaricom’s 5G network. To do this, head over to this link. We’ve also summed up the covered areas below.
| County | Area | Place/Estate |
| Kajiado | Oloitoktok | Ol Tukai |
| Kakamega | Sichirai | Kakamega State Lodge |
| Kiambu | Kiambu Town | Riverview estate, Golden Palm, Silver Gardens |
| Kiambu | Ruaka | Two Rivers Mall |
| Kiambu | Ruiru | Jerusalem, Mugutha, Murera, Murera Matangi |
| Kisii | Kisii CBD | Kisii CBD, Kisii Bus terminus, Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kisii University |
| Kisumu | Kisumu CBD | Kiboswa, Maseno University, Lower Riat Estate, Kisumu Airport, Mamboleo Estate, Kisumu CBD, Kisumu Bus Station |
| Machakos | Kamulu | Kamulu Stage |
| Machakos | Athi River | Baraka Gardens Estate, Acacia Estate, Osoit Gardens Estate |
| Mombasa | Likoni | Mombasa Hospital, Fort Jesus |
| Nairobi | Kilimani | Yaya Centre Mall, Kiluwa Apartments, Silverstone Apartments, Yaya Apartments, Kasuku Court, Abi Allan Apartments, Mango Court Apartments |
| Nairobi | Langata | Uhuru Gardens |
| Nairobi | South C | ark View Estate |
| Nairobi | Rongai | Rangau |
| Nairobi | Westlands | Safaricom HQ |
| Thika | Juja | Juja South Estate, Murema Estate, Sunset Park, Oak Park Estate |
Once you’ve confirmed that your area is covered simply request a connection from the same page or contact Safaricom staff for the same request via a call or social media.
Packages Available And Their Prices
Here are the 5G packages currently available. After paying for the router and installation fee, you’ll then have to pick one of the following packages based on your needs.
| Package | Price in KES | Speed in Mbps | Fair usage volume in GB |
| Basic | 3500 | 10 | 300 |
| Standard | 6000 | 40 | 500 |
| Extra | 15000 | 100 | 1000 |
The packages are valid for 30 days and cannot be rolled over to the next month. Incase you deplete your assigned bundles, you have two options, purchase another bundle and continue to browse at full speed or continue browsing till end month but at slower speeds.
5G Ready Smartphones
You will also need a 5G enabled phone to enjoy the product. Currently, all Samsung 5G enabled phones can connect to Safaricom’s 5G. The recently announced Oppo Reno 5G can also connect to the network. At the moment, iOS devices cannot access Safaricom’s 5G network but we’ll update you once they do.
We will have an updated list on all phones that can connect to the service soon.
Statement By Safaricom
“Plans are already underway to provide 5G bundles. These will be ready by December. Currently, we have 200,000 5G devices on our network. We will continue to work with our partners who supply devices, and leverage device financing partners to make 5G devices more available.” said Peter Ndegwa CEO Safaricom.
What do you think about Safaricom’s 5G Wi-Fi? Does it fit your needs? Let us know in the comments below.
