Vodacom pledges high-speed internet after $10m deal

Vodacom Tanzania Plc, Managing Director Sitho Mdlalose

By The Citizen Reporter

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Dar es Salaam. Vodacom Tanzania has promised a high-speed internet across the

country after signing broadband investment worth $10.8 million (about Sh25 billion).

The investment include $4.59 million deal signed yesterday between Vodacom and the National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) to allow the former to use the government owned fibre optics cable infrastructure to enhance connectivity in rural Tanzania.

An initial investment of $6.2 million was signed in October 2021 and is set to further spread high-speed internet facilities upcountry to reach more underserved areas.

“With expanded internet access to remote areas of the country, more people will be able to access digital facilities, such as health services, education delivery, and agricultural information as well as furthering the growth of financial inclusion nationally,” Vodacom said in a statement.

The deal was inked by Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited (TTCL) director general Peter Ulanga and Vodacom managing director Sitholizwe Mdlalose to improve Vodacom’s voice and data traffic across lake, central, and southern regions of Tanzania.

“Vodacom Tanzania aims to transform the country into a knowledge-based society via the application of ICT while bridging the digital divide as well as strengthening competitive abilities of domestic data and voice operators. This announcement comes to reiterate our commitment as a company to the Tanzania digitization agenda, and respond to the growing demand for digital services in the country,” said Mr Mdlalose.

Mr Ulanga expressed his commitment to prioritizing the quality of service to all stakeholders.

“We are happy to see more operators make use of the NICTBB as the infrastructure was developed with the main aim of helping the country realise its ICT agenda. I believe the leased infrastructure to Vodacom will enhance the usage of ICT applications for sustainable socio-economic development including implementation of e-government, e-learning, e-health, e-commerce, and much more locally and globally.”

he said.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology Dr Jim Yonaz, who witnessed the signing ceremony said; “The government’s ICT vision is to get 80 percent of the population to have access to digital connectivity by 2025….we want to ensure that all Tanzanians get the opportunity to enjoy the benefits that come with digital connectivity.