DAR ES SALAAM — Tanzanian authorities said on Tuesday plans are underway to expand the National ICT Broadband Backbone to more countries to enable them enjoy reliable and affordable internet connectivity.
Ashatu Kijaji, the east African nation’s Minister for Communications and Information Technology, said plans were underway to extend the National ICT Broadband Backbone to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“We are in talks with the Congolese authorities on our intentions of expanding to the country,” Kijaji told a press conference in the capital Dodoma.
The government of Tanzania is constructing the National Fibre Optic Cable network named as National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) with a view to achieving its ICT vision.
The infrastructure will enhance usage of ICT applications for sustainable socio-economic development including implementation of e-government, e-learning, e-health, e-commerce and much more locally and globally.
Until now, Tanzania has extended broadband backbone to Burundi, Malawi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Mozambique, making the country the hub of ICT infrastructure, said Kijaji.
Kijaji said the intention of the Tanzanian government is to cover 15,000 kilometers of the broadband backbone network by 2025.
She said in 2020/2021 the total coverage of the broadband backbone network was 8,319 kilometers.
