Vodacom set to connect 90 percent of population with broadband
Vodacom Foundation Tanzania director Ms Rosalynn Mworia
What you need to know:
- Vodacom Tanzania’s broadband connectivity currently covers approximately 52 percent of the country’s entire population
Dar es Salaam. Vodacom Tanzania is eyeing to connect at least 90 percent of the Tanzania population with broadband Internet by 2024 as part of the telco’s rural coverage expansion drive.
Currently, Vodacom’s broadband connectivity, which provides high-speed Internet, covers approximately 52 percent of the population, according to the corporate affairs director of the company, Ms Rosalynn Mworia.
As part of its Africa.connected initiative and in line with efforts to ensure wide Internet adoption among Tanzanians, the firm targets to expand broadband Internet connectivity to 65 percent of the population by the end of 2021 and a final target of 90 percent by 2024.
“For over two decades now, Vodacom has been continuously investing and improving its network to make sure that it provides its customers with the latest cutting-edge technology as well as the most innovative products and solutions available in the market,” she said.
She said the company investment in 4G alone is valued at Sh171.4 billion.
“Working with different government and private sector partners, Vodacom is contributing to this agenda by bringing affordable handsets to market, providing effective solutions to users with hearing or visual impairment as well as direct support to other government-led social initiatives,” said Ms Mworia.
The government is pushing for broadband connectivity to reach all Tanzanians with high-speed Internet which it said is a must in the 4th Industrial Revolution.
The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology recently signed a partnership agreement with the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (Tanesco) to expand broadband connectivity.
“The Fourth Industrial Revolution is built on a combination of various digital and modern technologies such as block chain, drones, Internet, artificial intelligence and more... To be able to effectively use all these technologies, we need reliable communication and power supply,” former minister Faustine Ndugulile said.
