TTCL vows to further ‘light’ City, economic zones

BERNARD LUGONGO in Mwanza

Telecommunication Company Limited (TTCL) in Mwanza Region yesterday affirmed that it will switch on the Metro Optic Fibre Rings Network this month to give the city a more network coverage, particularly in the economic zones.

The new move which would ensure stronger and uninterrupted communications is expected to serve the investments planned for the city.

The TTCL’s Head of Business Unit in the Lake Zone, Mr Karim Babu Bablia, told the ‘Daily News’ that the network has been largely connected to the business and industrial areas of the city, noting that with time, they are going to roll out the 4G LTE network all over the Mwanza Region.

“We are well prepared to support the investment in Mwanza in line with the country’s industrialisation vision 2025,” Mr Bablia further said.

Currently, the TTCL in Mwanza Region has managed to attract all types of customers, for instance, big investors in hospitality industry, public institutions,and banks among others. He appealed to the regional authority to effectively engage institutions responsible for social services’ provision when designing their economic projects.

“We need communication sharing between the institutions so that we move together in terms of investments. We need to plan together so that one should not move faster than others while implementing the new projects in order to incorporate the social services in those projects,” he hinted.

Among others, he mentioned theft on TTCL’s infrastructures, such as copper and iron top covers, as some challenges they have been facing while improving communication in the city. However, he quickly explained that in collaboration with the Mwanza Regional Office, they were addressing the challenges to ensure they offer reliable communication service to the residents of Mwanza.

Statistics from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) show that the number of mobile phone subscribers in the country rose by 25 per cent in 2015 to 39.8 million in the telecom industry. Like in other African countries, mobile phone use has surged in Tanzania over the past decade, with the help of the launch of cheaper Smartphone.

The number of Internet users rose 52 per cent to 17.26 million last year from 2014, the state-run Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) said in a statement.

Communications is the fastest- growing sector in East Africa’s second-largest economy, which has a population of more than 47 million people.