Kampala — UGANDA telecom has disconnected internet services at Makerere University over a sh900m debt.

The university is indebted to three internet service providers.

An internal communication stated that due to unpaid debts, MTN and AVU, were transmitting a poor quality bandwidth that had led to the slow or lack of internet access at the university.

Francis Tusubira, the director of the information communication technology (ICT) directorate, on June 1 said they were negotiating with the service providers.

"The queues reduce at night as the server reduces the backlog of pending email. If you are travelling, it is recommended that you log on between 10:00pm and 10:00 am East African time, which are the off peak hours," he advised.

But Gilbert Kadilo, the university's public relations officer, denied knowledge of the arrears and poor internet services.

"It is not true that the whole university has been cut off. Probably some units have been affected but I am not aware," he said.

Tusubira explained that the university council had approved a 'technology fee' where each student would pay sh45,000 per year, amounting to sh1.35b per year, to settle the internet costs.

He noted that the fee would be introduced gradually.

Tusubira argued that the fee was justified since the university provided internet kiosks and computer rooms in the halls of residence.

"There is a similar plan to institute a wireless link all hostels close to Makerere. Since the decision has not been implemented, the university must look for adhoc sources to meet the cost of bandwidth," Tusubira stressed.