Low internet prices to position Rwanda as services hub

With its diminutive competitive edge over its counterparts in the East African bloc, Rwanda is embarking on information and technology to position itself as the region’s services hub, a move that will see it benefit from the region’s integration.Head of Information and Communication Technology at Rwanda Development Board, Patrick Nyirishema, believes that access to cheaper internet rollout would help the country to transform into a service based economy and register higher sustained growth trends.“We are using demand aggregation for bandwidth to drive down prices of internet capacity, to stimulate investment into regional network infrastructure and ensure that affordable access is made available to all market participants on an open access basis,” he observed. Nyirishema is optimistic that affordable internet access will expand market potential and enable Rwanda to be more competitive in the region.“Rwanda strongly believes in regional integration and is strategically positioned as a link between East and Central Africa,” he pointed out, yesterday, during the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited and the government of Rwanda.The memorandum that envisages that a ten year $6.7 million contract to Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited to provide 1.244 Giga bytes per second of internet speed will help Rwanda cushion the current shortage of access to low cost international connectivity.Rwanda currently uses around 1.1 to 1.2 Giga bytes per second of the international bandwidth compared to current demand of 5 gigabytes needed to connect to the rest of the world. It further boosts of full local bandwidth that was stepped up by the successful completion of the 2,300 kilometre fibre optic cable.“This purchase of bulk international capacity on regional and international networks will significantly boost our vision to make bandwidth a commodity on the Rwandan market,” he underscored. Nyirishema noted that the 1.244 gigabytes TTCL will provide will be channeled to the national backbone with half taken for government use while the rest will be floated to the private sector through internet service providers.Claude Nzamukwereka, an internet operator in Kigali, notes that increasing internet speed will help bring up the numbers of internet users thus improving lives economically and socially.“Many people are doing business and studying through internet. Others are connecting through social media, so if the speed is increased, this means that it will be more affordable for them.” Moreover, as the region embraces technology, cross border trade is seen to take root, which will facilitate member states to transform from agro based economies, which hinders them to compete with developed countries.“To us, regional integration and cross border business relationship is more important and we believe that this success will unlock more potential to the region,” said Amir Said, CEO Tanzania Telecommunications company-TTCL said.Amir noted that the partnership between TTCL and Rwanda is a remarkable achievement of the current efforts to boost broadband internet in Africa that currently stands at 0.2 percent penetration. He noted that the company’s planned projects to connect Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia to leverage geographical challenges hindering trade in the region. Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited is an integrated communications company in based in Tanzania with services ranging from local, national, and international telecommunications services.Experts say the efforts are timely with the recently concluded broadband conference in Macedonia which aimed at accelerating global broadband access.

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Low internet prices to position Rwanda as services hub