Ensuring high speed Internet connectivity is one of the key factors that attracts customers in the hospitality industry, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, the Minister of Youth and ICT, has said.The minister noted that some hotels in the country have no Internet, while others have slow-speed Internet, which he said frustrates clients. “You can factor in the cost of subscription when you are billing clients, but ensure that customers have access to high speed Internet,” advised Nsengimana.He was speaking during the launch of a survey report about the Internet connectivity in hotels across the country. The survey was conducted by the Rwanda Utility Regulatory Agency last year in 31 hotels countrywide.The study was commissioned after the chairman of Rwanda Hotel and Restaurant Association, Dennis Karera, expressed concern about the low speed broadband Internet, which he said was one of the factors affecting the hospitality sector.The survey discovered that hoteliers were not aware of corporate Internet connection tariffs, explaining why some of them are being overcharged by service providers. Others have no Internet in hotels because they think the charges are high.“Internet service providers are taking advantage of the ignorance of their clients to overcharge and provide them with the slow Internet connection,” it added. “We found out that among others, there are hotels paying Rwf318,000 per one megabit, while others were paying Rwf600,000 for the same,” said RURA’s Justin Rugondihene during the launch of the study report.Karera urged Internet service providers to improve service delivery to make the industry competitive.The event was attended by service providers, hotel operators, as well as representatives from the Rwanda Development Board.
