Sunday, August 28, 2011
Chief Editor
SOME 7,000 kilometres have been covered by the National Information Communication and Technology Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) out of the targeted 10,000kms.
President Jakaya Kikwete said in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday that upon its completion, the NICTBB which connects all regions and districts through a 10,000km optic fibre cable will help in achieving Millennium Development Goals.
"There is need to harness ICT to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and development Vision 2025.
"The national ICT policy is geared towards making Tanzania become a hub of ICT infrastructure and solution in terms of economic development and poverty reduction efforts," he said.
Mr Kikwete was officiating at the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation (CTO) Sixth Annual Connecting Rural Communities African Forum in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday.
The forum which brought various dignitaries from African countries was held under the theme 'improving livelihoods and citizen engagement through rural ICT connectivity'.
President Kikwete noted that the theme was timely and relevant for African countries where ICT connectivity in rural areas has remained a challenging task.
"We are facing various challenges in building this network which range from inadequate funds, erratic power supply and human resources...," he said.
He noted that various border posts have already been connected to NICTBB, adding that the move would help in connecting to neighbouring countries.
Available information shows that various landlocked neighbouring countries have expressed interest to use the newly built national ICT backbone to get international links via the submarine cables laid in the Indian Ocean off the East African Coast in 2009.
Such countries include Zambia, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi.
Mr Kikwete noted that in Tanzania, ICT has facilitated rural development and has increased innovation, improved health services and general well-being of people.
"Farmers in Ifakara which is about 400kms from Dar es Salaam can now communicate to a businessman in Dar es Salaam and do all the transactions through M-pesa, this is how the cell-phones have simplified life, thanks to service providers," he said.
Earlier, the CTO Chief Operations Officer, Mr Bashir Patel, noted that African governments should ensure increased access of ICT services in rural areas.
"ICT plays a vital role in poverty alleviation and if implemented thoroughly it will help in achieving MDGs for African countries by 2015," he said.
Mr Patel noted that the fact that over 60 per cent of the population in Africa lives in rural areas and depends on agriculture, lack of connectivity poses a serious challenge for their development.
He emphasized not only in making services available but in ensuring that the services are affordable to all.
"If the government and private sectors work together in this undertaking, there will be a truly sustainable rural connectivity," he said.
In another development, President Kikwete launched a logo that will be used in a campaign to sensitize on the shift from analog to digital technology.
The target is to make sure that the country is using digital system by next year. The campaign will be engineered by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).
Posted in: Africa,Broadband,Internet
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