Uganda in third phase of broadband backbone

Uganda’s National Information Technology Authority (NITA) is in the third phase of implementing its National Data Transmission Backbone Infrastructure (NBI), a project which once completed will provide high speed internet access to Ugandans.

East African Business Week reports the third phase of the project will start in September and the completion date is set for July 2014.

The project will involve the laying of optical fibre cable to connect Masaka, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kabale and Katuna to the National Backbone BI and the construction of the Network Operations Center (NOC).

There have however been reports that an audit by the Auditor General had called for the stopping of the US$106 million project until some issues, including opening NBI’s third phase for competition, are sorted.

The third phase of NBI, which will be carried out by Soliton Telmec, will connect Uganda to Tanzania through Mutukula and Rwanda through Katuna.

Credit: HumanIPO