Nokia has deployed energy-saving software for Safaricom Kenya to help reduce the operator's power consumption.

The software is expected to lower the costs of running Safaricom's 3G, 4G, and 5G networks.

Nokia will deploy its AVA Energy Efficiency software to around 30,000 5G, 4G, and 3G cells.

The Finnish vendor said that this will deliver network energy cost savings of between eight to 10 percent, and follows a pilot program with Safaricom.

The AVA software uses artificial intelligence to switch off idle and unused equipment automatically during low usage periods.

“Network power consumption is a challenging issue for operators on many levels, including costs and from an environment perspective," said Anthony Gacanja, network director at Safaricom Kenya.

"This rollout with Nokia represents an important step to helping Safaricom Kenya mitigate this challenge while delivering the same network quality and reliability to our customers.”

Nokia struck a similar deal with Philippines operator Globe Telecom earlier this month.