BRCK, a Kenyan internet provider has bought the assets of its rival Surf to become one of the biggest public Wi-Fi networks in sub-Saharan Africa. This was announced at the Africa Tech Summit in Kigali.
Surf, owned by US based EveryLayer was launched in Kenya in 2016, and has been providing internet to low income communities through public hotspots. This acquisition will catalyze BRCK’s status as the most prolific provider of public Wi-Fi in Sub-Saharan Africa. With the acquisition, Surf will be rebranded after 6 months and integrated into the Moja network. BRCK will continue serving Surf’s current network and is committed to transparent communication with customers on any network changes.
In 2017, BRCK launched Moja Wi-Fi, a network of free public internet access points that allows anyone to get online. The Moja service is run through buses and matatus in Nairobi and Kigali and it is currently active in 1,500 buses. According the CEO Eric Hersman, the Moja service, as of January 2019 had racked up to 300,000 active and 3.7 million impressions per month.
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“The team at Surf has done a remarkable job of building public fixed Wi-Fi in Kenya, and we’re happy to have that come under the BRCK umbrella in our mission to create affordable access to the internet at greater scale in Africa,” noted BRCK’s CEO, Erik Hersman.
This is an important moment in BRCK’s journey towards meeting Africa’s unique needs and expanding on the continent’s connectivity infrastructure. It will extend its reach to over 2,500 Hotspots across Kenya and Rwanda, serving a community of 500,000 users a month. BRCK believes that the acquisition will go a long way towards supporting Africa’s technological evolution.
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