Spectrum Sharing in Kenya: Progress, Opportunities, Challenges and Way Forward

Spectrum Sharing (SS) is gradually turning into the de facto method that can be adopted to address the growing radio frequency (RF) spectrum demand across the world. This is due to the rapidly increasing number of wireless devices and new bandwidth hungry Internet-based services. Amidst this tremendous appetite for Internet access, however, a significant population on the planet is still underserved owing to the fact that they have limited Internet access options. SS can therefore be adopted as an opportunistic technique to deliver more Internet access options. The experience of both TV White Spaces (TVWS) and Wi-Fi 6E provide great SS examples. Notwithstanding, SS also faces a set of challenges which seem to impede its adoption. In this paper, we share our findings on a Gap Analysis study conducted in Kenya on SS between October 2021 and September 2022. The study examined the opportunities and challenges with a special focus on the pillars of regulations, economics and technology, relevant to the implementation of SS in Kenya.