Vodacom wins tender to provide telecom services to 466 villages

By The guardian reporter

Rene Meza, Vodacom Tanzania Managing Director

Vodacom has been approved to offer telecommunications services in select rural and urban underserved areas across the country.


The company's Managing Director Rene Meza made public their winning of a tender to provide telecommunication services to a total of 466 Villages in 73 wards that cover a total population of approximately 1,000,000 people.

The tender was issued by the Universal Communication Services Access Fund (UCSAF) as part of the Tanzania Communications Infrastructure and e-Government Project (RCIP Tanzania) funded by the International Development Association.

Speaking at the signing ceremony for cellular companies that won tenders to provide rural coverage at the turn of the week, UCSAF's Chief Executive and Fund Manager, Eng Peter Ulanga, said they are pleased with the outcome and believe all the awarded firms will perform to expectation noting that the project will cover 152 wards and reach about 1.6 million people.

UCSAF was established to promote universal access to information and communications technology in the country and promote social, economic development in both rural and urban undeserved areas.

Vodacom Tanzania Limited is one of Tanzania's leading cellular network offering state-of-the-art GSM communication services across the country.

It was launched in 2000 and is a subsidiary of Vodacom Group (Pty) Limited, South Africa, which is also a subsidiary of Vodafone Group UK.

Vodacom Group (Pty) Limited owns a majority share portion of 65 percent and the remaining 35 percent is owned by Mirambo Ltd. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN