NETWORK ACCESS
According to the recent survey, Uganda is among the top three countries in Africa that has advanced technological and innovation capabilities. Currently it finds itself among the 82 world nations globally, which have tremendous focus on innovation and technological advancements. The ministry of ICT is the government body that controls and regulates all the activities related to the Information Communication and Technology. The Ministry of ICT is responsible for making strategic goals to facilitate the people as well as build a strong communication and network infrastructure.
Presently, the ICT Ministry has set up the strategic goal in improving the UGANDA’s infrastructure by developing UGANDA Vision 2040 strategic plan. The goal of this step is to transform UGANDA into a knowledge hub. The step by step approach planned by UGANDA to become prosperous in the area of science, technology and communication highlights its progress towards modernization.
The following table gives an overview of UGANDA’s implementation strategy and its respective outcomes.
NBI/EGI is Uganda’s National Data transmission Backbone Infrastructure Project. It has been approved by the government and its framework and financing agreement for the third phase was signed in April 2015 with Chinese Minister of Commerce.
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Phase I involved the laying of 168Kms of fibre optic cable to link the towns of Mukono, Bombo, Entebbe and Jinja to Kampala.
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Phase II ,which commenced in 2008, involved the laying of 1543Kms of optical fibre cable to link the towns of Mayuge, Iganga, Bugiri, Busia, Mbale, Tororo, Luwero, Nakasongola, Masindi, Gulu, Mpigi, Masaka, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kabale and Katuna. They covered about 22 towns in Phase I and Phase II.
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Phase III will involve the laying of 756 Kms optical fibre cable to connect the towns of Kumi, Soroti, Lira, Bushenyi and Kasese, while the rest of the districts will be connected by terrestrial links.
Network Affordability:
NBI helped National Information Technology Authority- Uganda (NITA-U) in delivering bulk internet bandwidth to Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Uganda, MDAs. This managed to lower the average cost of internet bandwidth from US$ 600 per mbps to US$ 300 per mbps, creating a saving of US$ 1,911,600 annually. When NITA-U will connect an additional 60 MDAs, we will have an additional saving of US$ 3,348,000 on top of the US$ 1,911,600.
“This is fundamental step towards the realization of an active western ring under the NBI, and we working tirelessly to ensure that more MDAs are connected to the NBI as we see a further reduction in the internet costs.” – James Saaka, Executive Director- NITA-U.
Internet Availability:
In Uganda, currently there are 48 licensed telecommunications service providers, which offers both voice and data services. More than 30 ISP’s offer both broadband and dial-up internet services. The infrastructure of most internet operators currently consists of CDMA, GSM, VSAT satellite technology and copper or fiber optic cable.
Internet Providers:
The internet service providers in Uganda are One2 Net, Datanet.com, Infocom, Afsat Communications (U) Limited, Kampala Siti cable limited, Latest Technology International Limited, Kanodiko Systems Ltd, Bushnet Limited, Africa On Line, and Multichoice Uganda Limited. According to the survey in 2013, around 16.2% of population have access to Internet services.
Telecommunication and Cellular Service Providers:
Uganda has a very few telecommunication and cellular service providers compared to the number of ISP’s. They are MTN (U) Limited, Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL online), Celtel Uganda, and Talk Telecom Solutions Limited as a Public Service Providers.
Transport Infrastructure and Electricity Readiness:
According to the recent survey by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Uganda has taken an ambitious infrastructure plan to boost its economy. Upgrading the transportation network and the electricity is now Uganda’s top economic priority. As over the three fourth of Ugandans live in rural areas doing agriculture as their main occupation, only 14% of households have electricity. The hydroelectric power plants which are currently under construction, roads and railroad networks are backed by the Chinese firms by investing around USD 10 billion. Upon completion the power plants will become the country’s largest power plants doubling the Uganda’s power generation capabilities.
The transportation facilities like better roads, bridges, and railways aims to facilitate the movement of people across the country and most importantly transportation of goods especially ICT equipment and ICT-facilitated trade in goods.
Internet Affordability:
Currently the internet affordability and speed has revolutionized Uganda. This was mainly due to major break-through in 2009 when East Africa was connected to Europe and Asia by an undersea fiber-optic cable. Before this internet was accessed via satellite link-ups was very expensive and slow in speed. This made the Ugandans access the internet on the mobile phones for less than $100 USD.
