VODACOM Tanzania Plc has signed a contract with the National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) that would allow the former to use the government-owned fiber optics cable infrastructure to enhance connectivity in rural Tanzania.

This investment valued at 4.59 million US dollars comes after an initial investment of 6,223,500 US dollars in October last year to make a total of 10 million US dollars (about 23.2bn/-) and is set to further spread high-speed internet facilities upcountry to reach more underserved areas of the country.

With expanded internet access to remote areas of the country, more people will be able to access digital facilities, such as health services, education delivery, and agricultural information as well as furthering the growth of financial inclusion nationally.

The deal inked by TTCL Corporation Director General, Mr Peter Ulanga and Vodacom Managing Director, Sitholizwe Mdlalose is set to improve Vodacom's voice and data traffic across the lake, central, and southern regions of Tanzania in a bid to transform the country into knowledge-based society through the application of ICT.

The Permanent Secretary of at the Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology (Communication), Dr Jim Yonazi who witnessed the signing ceremony said: "The government's ICT vision is to get 80 per cent of the population to have access to broadband digital connectivity by 2025. The expansion of the national fiber backbone gets us closer to this goal.

"We have committed ourselves to this because we want to ensure that all Tanzanians get the opportunity to enjoy the benefits that come with digital connectivity. We recognize the vital role that mobile operators play in pushing this accessibility closer to the people. We appreciate Vodacom Tanzania and its collaboration in making use of this resource that the country has invested in and making it available to the public."

On his part, Vodacom Tanzania Managing Director Sitholizwe Mdlalose said: "Vodacom Tanzania aims to transform the country into a knowledge-based society through the application of ICT, while bridging the digital divide as well as strengthening competitive abilities of domestic data and voice operators.

"This announcement comes to reiterate our commitment as a company to the Tanzania digitization agenda, and respond to the growing demand for digital services in the country."

Vodacom Tanzania PLC has been a key stakeholder in the usage of NICTBB infrastructure since 2012, with a capacity leasing contract worth 50 million US dollars signed in 2012.

The TTCL Corporation Director General, Peter Ulanga whose corporation manages the NICTBB on behalf of the government said: "We are happy to see more operators make use of the NICTBB as the infrastructure was developed with the main aim of helping the country realize its ICT agenda.

"I believe the leased infrastructure to Vodacom will enhance the 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."

Copyright Tanzania Daily News. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source News Service English