Tanzania: Fibre optic to pull down telecom costs

PRICE wars among telecom companies would continue until the completion of the national fibre optic which is expected pull down costs particularly the low income earners. The national fibre optic is 100 per cent owned by the government, but the public as well as private companies can purchase the network services and resell to the end users.

The government has pledged to extend its commitments in developing Information and Communication Technologies (ICT which is a special national initiative leveraging it as an integral part of development.

There is already a bridge between those who are able and those unable to participate in the knowledge economy currently termed as the “digital divide.” The National Information Communication Technology (ICT) Broadband Backbone Technical Co-ordinator Mr Nsaji Mwamkonda said in Dar es Salaam on the ongoing Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) that almost all telecom companies have already registered with the national fibre optic.

“When the costs of telecom services will further drop, it means majority of Tanzanians especially low income earners have the possibility to explore it for development and poverty eradication campaign,” he said.

He said, for example, the Tanzania Telecommunication Limited (TTCL) was already selling network services to the National Microfinance Bank (NMB) and the Regional Administration and Local Government. The other telecom companies were currently teaming up in order to buy networks from the national fibre optics in order to distribute them to the clients.

There are a number of projects in pipeline that intended to transform Tanzanians into an Information Communication Technology (ICT) society. One of the major projects in pipeline includes the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) that would focus on primary schools in Tanzania. The ITU was adapted by the United Nations General Assembly as the World Information Society Day.

In this project, all primary schools would be connected and the surrounding communities to have access to internet services necessary for socio-economic activities. For example, an individual in Mwanza seeking to register a new company would no longer travel to Dar es Salaam.

Mr Mwamkonda also cited benefits which farmers could earn from the project would be searching for the market prices of their products before they decide to transport them. The current Tanzania ICT situation requires such steps to enable Tanzanians to participate meaningfully in the knowledge economy, recognizing that low levels of human capital development, local content creation; ICT infrastructure and access, which together lead to high costs of participation.

These are some of the challenges that make the government to enhance the initiatives aiming at increasing access, knowledge and utilization of ICT to the whole community in order to facilitate integration and contribution to a development centered information society. The second project in pipeline according to Mr Mwamkonda was to be financed by the United States Development Initiative and the pilot project to be implemented in Mtwara Region.

In the third project, he said the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training was preparing a project that would facilitate all secondary school teachers in the colleges, with laptops that would equip them before undertaking their carrier.

All the ICT projects focus at easing citizens life difficulties by researching and adapting to specific services to specific cities and towns as well as rural areas. There are dangers posed by the digital divide and the risk of being excluded further from the knowledge economy and social development. This has propelled the government to put in place a policy framework through which co-ordinating mechanisms and harmonized strategies might be nurtured.

The government has already expressed its commitments in support of the ITU initiatives and has called for all ICT stakeholders to participate fully in order to make it a reality. ICT is to be utilized in order to enhance capacity building in communities by improving services and creating specific ICT services to the whole society.

“We urge all to make ICT more affordable and accessible as main way in ensuring its accessibility because it is critical in sharing information and knowledge, improving health and nutrition and communication with others as well as creating employment opportunities in the society,” he said.

He said this duty aims at providing opportunities of ICT to all, especially those who are unconnected to the digital revolution in the cities and towns in the country. In this recognition, the government has already started embarking on establishing ways of providing services in order that Tanzanians may have a well tailored access to ICT services that address their problems.

Through its theme this year, ITU has called upon its member states to connect all institutions particularly schools in urban areas, because schools are places for learning and that they bring many youths together.

He also urged member states to support the ongoing work that aim at developing standards that will help facilitate smart cities, such as intelligent transport systems and improved traffic control and efficiency that focus at reducing carbon emissions, smart grids and energy- efficient buildings.