GE & Safaricom Sign Kshs 43 Million Deal on New Innovative Technology

• GE will supply Safaricom with 48 GE Durathon batteries to provide backup power during prolonged power outages.
• The GE Durathon battery technology is the first of its kind in Africa making Safaricom "Thee" trendsetter in innovative telecommunications in Kenya and Africa
• The GE Durathon Battery's Technology delivers on Vision 2030's priority - delivering a competitive telecommunications. industry that delivers a reliable service

Nairobi, Kenya (23 March 2013): General Electric Company (GE: NYSE)'s subsidiary GE Energy Story and telecommunications company, Safaricom have signed a Kshs 43 million deal. The deal will see GE supply Safaricom with 48 GE Durathon batteries which will capacitate the Safaricom network to run efficiently during power outages. 

Speaking at the announcement event earlier today, GE President and CEO for Africa, Jay Ireland said GE is committed to partnering with stakeholders to broaden the innovation play in Kenya and the rest of Africa. He said sustainable power supply continues to be one of Africa's critical challenges and Kenya is no exception. 

"Kenya is growing rapidly and to ensure that we have an enabling environment that supports sustainable growth, we need to adopt innovative ways to overcome inhibiting challenges such as interrupted power supply. The GE Durathon battery will achieve just that for Safaricom and its customers," he said. 

He elaborated the battery provides reliable and cost-effective power for the telecommunications sector at reduced fuel costs. 

"Durathon Battery technology is one of the first batteries in the world to be designed specifically for Charge Discharge Cycling (CDC) telecom applications. By using batteries as the primary energy source in a continuous charge-discharge-cycling (CDC) operating mode, fuel costs and emissions can be substantially reduced and overall system efficiency dramatically improved. Durathon Batteries are not affected by ambient temperature, so operators save money and space by removing unnecessary HVAC and complex cooling systems, making it the perfect solution for installations in extreme environments, he said. 

He said Durathon Batteries are ideal for back-up applications in urban centres where space is at a premium. "They are designed to run at 48V and constructed from abundantly available materials, individual Durathon Battery modules are inherently less attractive to thieves looking to run consumer electronics or recoup material reclamation," Ireland said. 

Speaking at the same event, Director General of Vision 2030'S Mugo Kibati praised GE and Safaricom for driving efficiency and innovation in Kenya's telecommunications industry. 

"Today marks a key milestone that will change the face of Kenya's telecommunications industry. Safaricom continues to be a trend setter in improving our connectivity and ensuring that we are on par with the best in the world. Other African telecommunications companies can learn a lot from Safaricom on how to circumvent challenges that negatively impact their ability to grow," he said. Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore expressed his company's excitement on acquiring this new technology and said Safaricom continues to put the customer first. Safaricom has so far installed 32 batteries in 20 sites within the CBD to remarkable results. According to Mr. Collymore, the business has already registered a 63% reduction in total power failures and an 80% reduction in the duration of outages. 

"The introduction of using this technology will ensure that our customer receives uninterrupted usage of our mobile services. It also re-affirms our strong commitment to lowering our carbon footprint through efficient consumption of energy by exploring alternative energy solutions and improving overall quality of service through innovation," Collymore said. 

He said today's announcement is a clear indication that the private sector is committed to working together to deliver a world class economy for Kenya by 2030. 

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com. 

About GE Energy Storage Business GE Energy Storage, a unit of GE Transportation, works to enable safer. Efficient and cost effective storage, distribution and utilization of energy where it's needed. As a global technology leader and supplier of advanced battery energy storage systems, GEES provides Durathon battery modules and complete energy storage solutions to the Telecommunications, Energy Management, and Power Generation, Grid operations, Backup and Motive power industries. For more information, visit: www.geenergystorage.com 

About Safaricom-Corporate
Safaricom provides a comprehensive range of communication services under one roof to over 19 million subscribers. These services include mobile and fixed voice and data services on a variety of platforms. It has the widest 2G and 3G network with a growing fibre cable footprint to deliver the country's fastest broadband service. Safaricom pioneered commercial mobile money transfer globally through M-PESA, the most successful such service anywhere in the world. Launched in March 2007 as a money transfer service, it now has over 16 million customers and over 60,000 agents countrywide 

For more information, contact: 

Thulisile Phiri
Media Relations Manager – GE Africa
M: +2779 885 0530
E :This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Or 
Victoria Kaigai or Ann Nderi of Safaricom 
M: 0729111331/0722217692
E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• GE will supply Safaricom with 48 GE Durathon batteries to provide backup power during prolonged power outages.
• The GE Durathon battery technology is the first of its kind in Africa making Safaricom "Thee" trendsetter in innovative telecommunications in Kenya and Africa
• The GE Durathon Battery's Technology delivers on Vision 2030's priority - delivering a competitive telecommunications. industry that delivers a reliable service

Nairobi, Kenya (23 March 2013): General Electric Company (GE: NYSE)'s subsidiary GE Energy Story and telecommunications company, Safaricom have signed a Kshs 43 million deal. The deal will see GE supply Safaricom with 48 GE Durathon batteries which will capacitate the Safaricom network to run efficiently during power outages. 

Speaking at the announcement event earlier today, GE President and CEO for Africa, Jay Ireland said GE is committed to partnering with stakeholders to broaden the innovation play in Kenya and the rest of Africa. He said sustainable power supply continues to be one of Africa's critical challenges and Kenya is no exception. 

"Kenya is growing rapidly and to ensure that we have an enabling environment that supports sustainable growth, we need to adopt innovative ways to overcome inhibiting challenges such as interrupted power supply. The GE Durathon battery will achieve just that for Safaricom and its customers," he said. 

He elaborated the battery provides reliable and cost-effective power for the telecommunications sector at reduced fuel costs. 

"Durathon Battery technology is one of the first batteries in the world to be designed specifically for Charge Discharge Cycling (CDC) telecom applications. By using batteries as the primary energy source in a continuous charge-discharge-cycling (CDC) operating mode, fuel costs and emissions can be substantially reduced and overall system efficiency dramatically improved. Durathon Batteries are not affected by ambient temperature, so operators save money and space by removing unnecessary HVAC and complex cooling systems, making it the perfect solution for installations in extreme environments, he said. 

He said Durathon Batteries are ideal for back-up applications in urban centres where space is at a premium. "They are designed to run at 48V and constructed from abundantly available materials, individual Durathon Battery modules are inherently less attractive to thieves looking to run consumer electronics or recoup material reclamation," Ireland said. 

Speaking at the same event, Director General of Vision 2030'S Mugo Kibati praised GE and Safaricom for driving efficiency and innovation in Kenya's telecommunications industry. 

"Today marks a key milestone that will change the face of Kenya's telecommunications industry. Safaricom continues to be a trend setter in improving our connectivity and ensuring that we are on par with the best in the world. Other African telecommunications companies can learn a lot from Safaricom on how to circumvent challenges that negatively impact their ability to grow," he said. Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore expressed his company's excitement on acquiring this new technology and said Safaricom continues to put the customer first. Safaricom has so far installed 32 batteries in 20 sites within the CBD to remarkable results. According to Mr. Collymore, the business has already registered a 63% reduction in total power failures and an 80% reduction in the duration of outages. 

"The introduction of using this technology will ensure that our customer receives uninterrupted usage of our mobile services. It also re-affirms our strong commitment to lowering our carbon footprint through efficient consumption of energy by exploring alternative energy solutions and improving overall quality of service through innovation," Collymore said. 

He said today's announcement is a clear indication that the private sector is committed to working together to deliver a world class economy for Kenya by 2030. 

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com. 

About GE Energy Storage Business GE Energy Storage, a unit of GE Transportation, works to enable safer. Efficient and cost effective storage, distribution and utilization of energy where it's needed. As a global technology leader and supplier of advanced battery energy storage systems, GEES provides Durathon battery modules and complete energy storage solutions to the Telecommunications, Energy Management, and Power Generation, Grid operations, Backup and Motive power industries. For more information, visit: www.geenergystorage.com 

About Safaricom-Corporate
Safaricom provides a comprehensive range of communication services under one roof to over 19 million subscribers. These services include mobile and fixed voice and data services on a variety of platforms. It has the widest 2G and 3G network with a growing fibre cable footprint to deliver the country's fastest broadband service. Safaricom pioneered commercial mobile money transfer globally through M-PESA, the most successful such service anywhere in the world. Launched in March 2007 as a money transfer service, it now has over 16 million customers and over 60,000 agents countrywide 

For more information, contact: 

Thulisile Phiri
Media Relations Manager – GE Africa
M: +2779 885 0530
E :This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Or 
Victoria Kaigai or Ann Nderi of Safaricom 
M: 0729111331/0722217692
E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.