Arusha — THE government has dispatched a special team to study the needs of the proposed Tanzania's first space satellite that will, among other things, will aid and enforce penetration of the territorial digital communications.
The Deputy Minister for Information, Communication and Information Technology Engineer Kundo Mathew said that having a satellite is part of the Malabo Convention that among other things, entails the protection of national airspaces.
"We shall customise the satellite in accordance to the country's needs," he said recently.
The Deputy Minister, who was officially opening the Annual Audit Risk and Cybersecurity Conference, which runs under the theme of 'Resilience in Digital Disruption Era,' said the team will operate under the Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology.
The intention to deploy the envisaged satellite is to aid and enforce the penetration of territorial digital communications.
"There are areas dotted with big hills and mountains where it becomes impossible for the fibre optic cables to be laid through, these are where the satellite will take over to spread digital waves," he explained.
The proposed satellite complements the 758 communication towers erected throughout Tanzania and the addition of 600 soon to be planted in the country. He noted that the country is not rushing into the project.
"We are taking time to identify our needs for the proposed national satellite. We are mulling the intended use of the satellite; will it be just for patrolling our skies, or safeguarding our resources from the air? May be also monitoring the country's borders digitally," pointed out Eng Mathew.
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The 2023 Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) Annual Audit, Risk and Cybersecurity Conference held here brought together a diverse group of over 250 leaders and experts to share their insights and experiences on IS/IT audit, control, security, cybersecurity, governance, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI).
According to Mr Halfan Semindu, the ISACA Board Member, the delegates shared experience on what is developing across the world and what can be emulated in the country, including issues of AI in project management in the era of business disruption.
ISACA is an international professional association focused on IT governance.
Mr Semindu said the that training government officials on Cybersecurity was vital in ensuring the country is protected.
Some of the participating countries in the Arusha's ISACA conference include leaders from Kenya, Nigeria, Comoro, Djibouti and the host Tanzania.
