{Rather than wait for companies to invest in 4G networks, the government is taking a leading role in expanding internet coverage and developing a knowledge-based economy.
\n}<\/p>\n
At the Smart Rwanda Days organised in Kigali last October President Paul Kagame reiterated his belief that broadband should be treated “like a utility” and made “affordable to as many people as we can.”<\/p>\n
Broadband is [the] foundation of a knowledge economy<\/p>\n
Sixteen months earlier, this viewpoint had helped seal a deal worth $140m with Korea Telecom (KT).<\/p>\n
The two parties formed a public-private partnership to build a high-speed internet network with 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) services to cover 95% of the population within three years.<\/p>\n
The government entered the partnership with KT after local operators did not respond.<\/p>\n
Rwanda continues to favour a pragmatic approach to the line between state and market, maintaining a focus on the development trajectory of the economy.<\/p>\n
“Plan A was to involve the telecoms operators, but they were reluctant because they had invested heavily in 3G networks.<\/p>\n
“They had no incentive to invest in 4G on a large scale. But we were interested in a rapid roll-out across the country, including rural areas,” says Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Rwanda’s minister of youth and ICT (information and communication technology).<\/p>\n
Rwanda launched the first commercial phase of its 4G high-speed system on 11 November 2014.<\/p>\n
The government\/KT joint venture olleh Rwanda networks (oRn) acts as the wholesaler to mobile network operators and internet service providers.<\/p>\n
Despite more than 7,000km of fibre-optic cable across the country \u2013 of which 4,500km is government owned \u2013 only a quarter of Rwanda’s 11.3 million citizens can currently access the internet.
\n{{
\nThe government says 4G will change this.}}<\/p>\n
As of June 2014, the mobile penetration rate in Rwanda was 68.1%, compared with an internet penetration rate of 25%, although internet penetration grew 10.6% from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2014, according to Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority.<\/p>\n
“Broadband is there to fast-track business, information exchange, information generation and consumption. It’s a foundation of a knowledge economy,” says Nsengimana.<\/p>\n
He added that the network will accelerate the country’s ambition to move from an agriculture-based to a knowledge-based economy. In the last two quarters of 2014 ICT contributed just 2% to Rwanda’s gross domestic product.
\n{{
\nPricey handsets}}<\/p>\n
There are many obstacles to the wide adoption of 4G services. Despite government subsidies, 4G smartphones remain out of reach for the majority of Rwandans.<\/p>\n
Currently, more than 98% of the handsets and devices on the Rwandan market do not support 4G.<\/p>\n
The government is considering offering tax incentives to suppliers.<\/p>\n
It also wants banks to offer micro-loans for smart devices that would be payable in 12 monthly instalments.<\/p>\n
The government signed a deal in November 2014 with Brazilian device manufacturer Positivo Inform\u00e1tica and its partner BGH Group to start manufacturing and assembling computers and tablets in Rwanda as a way of bringing affordable devices to the market.<\/p>\n
Positivo BGH, which will start operations in May, expects to produce more than 700,000 devices in its first year of operations.<\/p>\n
Data on 4G networks is also expensive.<\/p>\n
Currently, the average retail price for 5GB of data on 4G networks is RWF18,600 ($27.1). Operators charge an average of RWF800 per GB on 3G networks.<\/p>\n
However, at current prices, Rwanda’s LTE is the most affordable in Africa, says Ebenezer Asante, MTN Rwanda’s chief executive officer.<\/p>\n
“Over time, like all technologies, as scale is gained and affordable routes for deployment kick in, the pricing will fall for the benefit of all,” Asante says.<\/p>\n
There are other areas of progress, and the country’s implementation of 4G is running alongside programmes such as the Smart Kigali initiative.<\/p>\n
Launched in September 2013, the programme provides free Wi-Fi internet in public places across Kigali, including commercial buildings, bus stations, airports and public buses. \u25cf<\/p>\n
Read the original article on Theafricareport.com <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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