GSMA Launch Tanzania Rural Connectivity Project
Worldwide mobile operators
association GSMA launched the Tanzania Rural Connectivity Project on July 26th
2016 to expand mobile broadband network coverage across the country. The
project is the first active infrastructure sharing initiative in East Africa
between mobile network operators (MNOs) Airtel, Millicom (Tigo) and Vodacom.
The mobile operators have committed to launch 6 3G pilot sites across Tanzania
to test the sustainable provision of mobile broadband services to 13m people
living in rural Tanzania. The agreement is the result of a year-long
collaboration between GSMA, the 3 local operators and the Government of
Tanzania. “This cooperation between the Tanzanian MNOs demonstrates that the
industry is committed to connecting the unconnected – particularly the millions
living in rural areas – and enabling them to gain access to essential internet
services,” said Mats Granryd, Director General of GSMA during the Mobile 360
Africa conference taking place in Dar es Salaam between 28 and 29th July 2016.
“We don’t stop until every Tanzanian is connected”, said Ian Ferrao, Managing
Director at Vodacom Tanzania. Tanzania Mobile Connectivity As of the end of
2015, there were over 17m individual mobile subscribers in Tanzania, accounting
for 34m connections across the country, according to GSMA. However, Tanzania’s
population of 49m people is widely dispersed, with 69% of the population living
in rural regions. Operators have so far been able to deploy their 2G networks
to up to 85% of the Tanzanian population, while 3G network deployment is mostly
limited to urban areas, resulting in only 35% of the population being covered
and able to access the mobile internet. “[…] Building on the 17m [Tanzanian]
citizens who currently access the internet, this initiative will focus on the remaining
13m citizens in Tanzania yet to be connected to the internet,” Granryd
commented. GSMA The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators
worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with almost 300 companies in the
broader mobile ecosystem. These include handset and device makers, software
companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organizations
in close industry sectors.
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