Tanzania's incumbent telecom operator Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL) has signed a Tsh 37.3 billion (US$15.9 million) contract with tech giant Huawei for the extension of the country’s National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) to 23 districts.
Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation Executive Director Peter Ulanga said the 23-district extension will cover 1,520 kilometres with a view to improving internet access in the country. The project is scheduled to be completed within a maximum of six months from the agreement signing date.
He added that the extension of the project was another step in government efforts to promote the use of ICT.
The Minister of Information, Communication and Information Technology, Nape Nnauye, added: "The move to connect all districts in the country with the NICTBB is in line with plans to make Tanzania a communication hub in the African region".
The NICTBB aims to connect all regions in the country and provide cross-border connectivity to Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi.
The new agreement comes about two weeks after Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan recommended that TTCL, having failed as a mobile operator, should focus on providing broadband services.
TCCL and Huawei have worked together before. In March 2022, TTCL signed an agreement with Huawei for the deployment and expansion of the mobile and fixed telecom network in the countryside. Later that year, the two partners also deployed a high-speed internet network on Mount Kilimanjaro.
