Safaricom taps Ericsson to beef up 5G microwave capacity in Kenya

Details: John Tanner; Category: Wireless Networks; 03 March 2026; 6830 views

Ericsson announced on Monday that it has extended its partnership with Kenyan telco Safaricom with a multi-year microwave deal aimed at fortifying Safaricom’s 5G capacity in the country.

Under the deal, Ericsson will provide Safaricom with all-outdoor E-band and all-outdoor multi-band products and services from its MINI-LINK portfolio. As part of the deal, Ericsson will also enable AI-powered analytics and automation in Safaricom’s network in the near future to enable intelligent decision-making.

Safaricom said it has enabled connectivity speeds of up to 1 Gbps in remote regions of North Kenya using Ericsson’s transport technology for high-capacity long-distance communications beyond 100 km.

“We are making great strides in expanding the benefits of 5G to Kenya’s consumers and businesses,” said Gerishon Gitonga Kithinji, Safaricom’s head of network planning and design. “Our new microwave deal will support us to deliver the high-performance 5G services in the country and will enhance customer satisfaction.”

Alain Maupin, VP and head of Ericsson East and North Africa, added that Kenya is witnessing a massive uptick in data consumption among mobile broadband subscribers, which makes the need for increased microwave link capacity more critical than ever.

“With Safaricom rolling out 5G steadily, the transport network is crucial for delivering on the 5G promise,” Maupin said.

Ericsson and Safaricom signed an agreement in 2021 to deploy Ericsson’s MINI-LINK 6352 to provide multi-Gbps backhaul capacity for mobile broadband nationwide coverage in Kenya.