CA director general Francis Wangusi.[photo/the-star.co.ke]
The Communications Authority (CA) last year disbursed Sh2.1 billion from the Universal Service Fund.
The money is contributed by telecom firms for projects to bridge the digital divide in Kenya.
In a statement the regulator said most of the money went towards expanding voice infrastructure in underserved regions of the country.
CA notes thats Mobile network operators were awarded contracts worth Sh1.25 billion to expand their voice services to 78 sub-locations across the country.
The sub-locations were identified in 2016 during a study.
CA further says that it is spending Sh837 million to subsidise the connection of 896 public secondary schools from the 47 counties to high speed Internet.
The CA signed the contracts for connecting the secondary schools last year with three companies — Liquid Telecom, Xtranet Communications and Comcarrier Satellite Services.
Telecom operators contribute the equivalent of 0.5 per cent their annual turnover to the USF, which in turn, is managed by the Universal Service Advisory Council.