Ending the internet monopoly that has been enjoyed by Korea Telecom Rwanda Networks (KTRN) will scale up the use of the fourth generation of mobile technologies (4G) internet, and other latest technologies, the Minister of ICT and Innovation has said. Paula Ingabire said this on Tuesday, February 7, while responding to lawmakers’ ICT-related queries during a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies. MP Frank Habineza asked why, in 2013, KTRN reached an agreement with Rwanda where it secured a 25-year-license to provide 4G internet and lay broadband infrastructure in the country but that is now being terminated, 15 years earlier. “Won’t the cancellation of the agreement have a legal impact, if the contract was for 25 years, yet it is cancelled after 10 years?” the lawmaker wondered. READ ALSO: Rwanda intends to take away 4G monopoly from KTRN Again, Habineza asked whether there will be no interruption in the services that the firm was providing to the country. Responding to Habineza’s queries, Ingabire indicated that the agreement with KTRN was such that the firm would help Rwanda to build infrastructure including for 4G network, and next generation technologies. On the review of the agreement with the company, she indicated that it was informed by the concerns identified regarding the challenges in terms of expanding networks and the capacity of telecommunication infrastructure. Though internet generations follow one another, she said, each generation has a capacity it cannot exceed, which requires to move to the next one – such as from 3G to 4G, in case the preceding one falls short of the requirements. “The major issue that was observed is that the agreement we had with KTRN as the [internet] wholesaler, all the telecommunication companies including small and large ones such as MTN and Airtel, were like retailers through buying the service from KTRN and selling to the clients, or Rwandans, who need such a service,” she said. The issues One of the challenges, she said, was the cost, because they were buying from the wholesaler and then selling at the retail price, with consumers having to pay more. “Because the cost was high, the result is that while we have a 4G population coverage of 97 per cent, its users are not more than two per cent. That means that the capacity is there, but its utilisation is low because of the cost issue,” she said. While reviewing the agreement, the Government brought together KTRN and the telecommunication companies – MTN and Airtel – and showed them that the high internet price would limit Rwanda’s use of such service, yet they need it. “We tried for a long period to try to make them agree on reducing the costs but that was not possible. The wholesaler (KTRN) thought that his prices were low enough, while the retailers (telecos) who sell to the residents thought that the wholesaler’s prices were high,” she said. “That was affecting our market because we could not expand to be able to address the communications issues that we could not solve as we had gone beyond what we could do with the 3G and 4G network that the operators namely MTN and Airtel had.” Options offered to KTRN Going forward, Ingabire said, the Government gave KTRN options. The first was that it can join efforts with the telecommunication companies on network infrastructure development. The second option was that they can be a third licensee such that they work in a similar way as MTN and Airtel so that, at least, each has the ability to expand the required infrastructure. “We are complying with the legislation. It is a challenge you face and say that you cannot make Rwandans delay for another 10 years for them to get improved service just because you have to remain in the deal that is not working in the market,” she said. Meanwhile, she pointed out, the Government developed a policy on how the monopoly can be ended. This, she added, involved the firm “because we want the process to be transparent and that we agree on how much money they should be compensated so that the wholesale arrangement be canceled.”
