Focus Media (Kigali)
12 October 2008
In line with the government vision of turning Rwanda into knowledge-based economy through ICT, the Rwandan government has signed a US$ 38 million service support program for the implementation of the National Backbone project, a fiber optic network, with Korea Telecom.
According to Romain Murenzi, the Minister in the President's office in charge of Science and Technology, the national backbone project will allow a network coverage which would allow 10,000 subscribers as well as 100,000 users.
"Once the project is completed, it will dramatically change the face of Rwanda," the Minister said.
The Minister remarked that the milestone agreement was reached after President Paul Kagame's visit to Korea where he held talks with Korea Telecom officials, and thus engineered the turning point of ICT in Rwanda. He added that once the network is in place, Rwanda will have no competitor in the sub-Saharan region apart from South Africa.
As one of the Asia's top integrated wired and wireless communication service providers, Korea Telecom is credited for its role in turning Korea into an IT powerhouse with the world's leading technology in the operation of broadband services.
According to Kim Han Suk, the chief executive officer for overseas business at Korea Telecom, both Korea and Rwanda have many things in common. For instance, he highlighted that both countries came from nowhere, have been devastated by war and are located in remote areas of the world.
Moreover, neither country has tangible natural resources and therefore both rely heavily on their citizens. "This explains the strong commitment to fulfill the vision of turning Rwanda into an ICT hub in the region," Kim Han Suk said.
He added that the partnership was not just commercial, but also based on the commitment to fulfill these goals on both sides.
The National Backbone will consist of a high-speed fiber optic network that will link 36 main nodes countrywide.
About 2,300 kilometers of fiber optic are expected to be laid underground, the network is expected to cover and fully connect all public institutions as well as hospitals, schools and universities in Kigali, towns as well as rural areas where it is expected to cover schools hospitals customs offices, immigration and border services as well as police stations.
According to Nkubito Bakuramutsa, the executive director of the Rwanda Information Technology Agency (RITA), once the National Backbone is complete all public institutions will benefit from the high-speed broad band, enabling voice, data and video applications.
Public utility
Yet with only 0.1% internet penetration, concerns have arisen as to whether the public will be able to benefit from the high-speed broad band. Bakuramutsa allayed those fears, saying that RITA would embark on an awareness program but that so far it has been hard to convince people without something tangible to show them.
He also referred to the recently launched one-laptop-per-child campaign as vital in changing the perception of the next generation as well as the current one.
Minster Murenzi further added that as long as the facilities were available, it would not take long before the public found it useful. "In a revolution you don't ask everyone to follow you, you just move forward," the Minister said, citing the example of Bill Gates and his vision to conceive a home computer.
RITA's Bakuramutsa further explained that the government will bear the full cost of installing the National Backbone infrastructure, which will be paid mainly with the proceeds from the sale of Rwandatel to Lap Green
To allay concerns by the private sector about RITA's monopoly once the National Backbone is complete, Mr. Bakuramutsa assured that RITA would not monopolize the service but instead would manage it as it is a public utility.
Under the terms of the contract, RITA will be responsible for the overall project management including the entire civil works and enabling connectivity once the infrastructure is in place.
Korea Telecom is expected to provide the technological expertise, equipment, application materials as well as managing the installation process. It will also train RITA engineers on the installation, management and repair of the infrastructure.
The first phase of the project is expected to be finalized by December 2009 while the second phase will be completed in 2010.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Focus Media. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
