Ratio Magazine reports that Kenya’s largest mobile network operator, Safaricom is set to begin testing 4G.

Listed telecommunication firm Safaricom is expected to begin technical trial of the 4G (fourth generation) technology on its network within the next two months. The roll out of the next generation Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology (4G) will be carried out by Chinese ompany Huawei Technologies.

“We are going to do a technical LTE trial on our spectrum to see if it suits the Kenyan market and its commercial viability. This is completely a technical trial and not a commercial trial and we are going to do the trials within our spectrum in the next two months.”Joseph said once the 4G network becomes operational, Safaricom customers will be able to enjoy high speeds of 600mega

bit per seconds or 1.5 gigabit per seconds in both downloads and uploads. The new technology will enable Safaricom to deliver a combination of services like data, voice, and video and download services like iTunes which will be billed through a different charging system.

Safaricom of late has been under quite a bit of pressure following Zain’s bold move to drastically lower tariffs, a move which has dragged the rest of the players in the market to follow suit in one way or another. Zain has recently obtained a 3G license. It seems Safaricom is gearing to be on the offensive in the data area given that of late the giant corporation has been caught on the defensive foot with the Zain tariff onslaught.

In any case, it appears Kenya is all set for even better network connectivity via 4G in the near future. One would however hope that internet costs would also shift downwards. The Safaricom dongles are considered by many to be a relatively expensive internet solution (albeit a pretty fast one).