Airtel Kenya appears to be making a strong, calculated move into the lucrative home internet market. Following news of their intent to enter the home fibre business, the telco has now quietly rolled out a new 5G Smart Connect Outdoor Unit, a Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) solution designed to offer robust home connectivity without needing to lay down physical fibre infrastructure to the customer’s premise.
This new outdoor unit is clearly designed to complement their existing in-house 5G router model, aiming to provide superior signal stability and speeds by physically placing the primary receiver outside the home. The strategy seems geared toward capitalising on the inherent advantage of 5G FWA, which, as we’ve highlighted before, can sometimes offer a better experience than traditional fibre.
From the setup images shared online and by Airtel customers, the outdoor kit comprises two main units — a weather-resistant external antenna and an indoor receiver/router. I presume the units connect via Ethernet, allowing users to position the antenna outdoors (on walls, poles, or rooftops) for optimal 5G reception while the indoor router distributes the signal via Wi-Fi.
According to Airtel’s official description, the 5G Smart Connect Outdoor Unit offers:
- Weather-resistant design: Built to operate reliably across different conditions.
- High-gain antenna: Ensures strong and consistent indoor coverage even from a distance.
- Signal amplification: Boosts 5G reception for stable, uninterrupted connectivity.
- Flexible mounting: Can be installed on rooftops, poles, or exterior walls.
The accompanying indoor unit is a traditional Wi-Fi router with multiple external antennas. Interestingly, the images we’ve seen suggest Airtel is deploying these units in different colour variants, with one sample showing a white indoor router and another a dark grey/black version, both paired with the white outdoor unit. I don’t know about you, but the dark grey finish looks awesome.
As for the pricing, they remain unchanged from what current Airtel 5G router users pay: KES 1,999/month for 15Mbps and KES 2,999/month for 30Mbps. However, unlike the existing unit, an additional installation fee of KES 1,000 applies to the outdoor router, and customers are required to fill in delivery and location details on Airtel’s website for home setup — including name, phone number, building name, street, region, and landmark. Airtel also notes that users must present their original identification document for SIM registration during installation.
Airtel’s Growing Push into Home Internet
As already noted, Airtel recently announced ambitions to enter the home fibre business, positioning itself against Safaricom’s dominance in broadband. While the 5G Smart Connect Outdoor Unit is not fibre-based, it signals Airtel’s early move into hybrid home connectivity, potentially offering fibre-like speeds without requiring physical cable infrastructure.
The new 5G Smart Connect Outdoor Unit shows Airtel’s intent to leverage 4G/5G (broadband) as an alternative to fibre, especially in areas where laying cables is expensive or impractical. By focusing on a superior outdoor-mounted 5G solution, Airtel is aiming to bypass the logistical and financial burden of rolling out physical fibre, allowing them to compete on speed, stability, and most importantly, price, thereby ensuring they get a piece of the fixed broadband pie immediately.
