$1m fibre-optic network for Tanzania cities

A one million-dollar fibre network is being set up in Tanzania to link the country’s major towns and improve connectivity between urban and rural areas.The Metro Network, the brainchild of the Six Telecoms Data Company, targets the metropolitan areas of Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Moshi, Mwanza, Shinyanga, Dodoma, Morogoro, Iringa, Mbeya and Mtwara.

According to David Ngara, the company’s chief technology officer, the project will be implemented in three phases. The first phase, which has already commenced in Dar es Salaam, will take six to eight months to complete.

The second phase will involve connecting capital cities to the fibre network, while the third phase will focus on connecting remote towns still using satellite technology.

Low Internet connectivity and high costs have been major hindrances to the government’s efforts to attract investments to the country.

Nick Odero, chief executive officer of Six Telecoms Data said connectivity problems have prevented businesses from communicating easily and conveniently.“We want to connect banks, chain stores, medical clinics and hospitals, or other firms that have branches around the country,” said Mr Odero.

“As companies grow and expand, they require a dedicated network that allows them to connect to all their branches or centres in a secure and cost efficient way,” added the official. Six Telecoms along with its venture partners have already laid 15,000 kilometres of fibre in the region covering all major cities and towns in the East African Community.

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the most digitally isolated region in the world, with a bandwidth per capita that was only one per cent of the world average and 0.2 per cent of that in the United States, as at 2008. The region is among those that have the highest connectivity costs in the world.

Six Telecoms is the premier international gateway operating in Africa with a prominent presence in sub-Saharan Africa including East Africa and Southern Africa.  Its clients include Bharti Airtel, KDN, Safaricom, Barclays Bank, Pan African Energy, Tigo, Kenya Airways, Stanbic Bank, KPMG, British Gas, and Deloitte.Source click here.