Rwanda completes construction of fiber optic network

Rwanda has completed construction of a 2,300 kilometre fibre optic telecommunications network across the country to link it to the undersea cables running on the East African coast. This was revealed by Ignace Gatare, the Rwanda Information and Communication Technology minister. The minister said that the fibre optic project will initially be operated by an independently-managed government entity on an open access model to accommodate infrastructure sharing with the private ICT service providers. He added that the goal was to progressively transfer the business to a private business. The project, which began in October 2009 at a cost of $95 million, was set up to boost access to various broadband services, boost electronic commerce and attract foreign direct investment through business process outsourcing. The ICT minister revealed that Internet access in Rwanda was estimated to be at 12% of the population and revenues from the information and communication industry amounted to 87 Billion Rwandan francs in 2009. "Initiatives to activate the links have been launched and discussions between Rwanda telecommunication operators that include MTN Rwanda, Tigo Rwanda and Rwandatel and regional cable operators are ongoing," the minister said. With an economic growth rate that accelerated from 6.1% in 2009 to 7.5% in 2010, the completion of the fiber optic network only paints a bright future for Rwanda.