Fostering Digital Transformation: NITA-UG Slashes Internet Costs By 50%
The National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U) has announced a further reduction in costs for internet bandwidth for Government offices.
At a new price of $35 per Mbps, all Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) can get connectivity through the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) at the lowest price in the market.
The Minister for the Ministry of Information, Communications Technology and National Guidance Dr. Chris Baryomunsi confirmed the development saying the significant price reduction from the previous cost of $70 per Mbps to $35 per Mbps is a part effort by NITA-U to reduce the cost of internet connectivity in the country.
This new pricing will take effect on August 1, 2023, continuing with the long-term plans laid out by NITA-U from the inception of the NBI Project.
“We have been working hard to consistently lower the cost of internet bandwidth in Uganda, especially for government institutions since they provide onward services for ordinary Ugandans and the private sector. It has been a struggle to achieve what we have done over the years, but we are happy that we have maintained our plans with consistency, and we know our MDAs are even more happy about this,” said Chris Baryomunsi the ICT Minister.
“NITA-U remains committed to digitizing Uganda by reducing the cost of internet connectivity, which is a significant barrier in encouraging the use of Internet across the country. This effort has been deliberate and we are happy to have led the industry in reducing the cost of connectivity to Government offices by over 84% since 2010 when 1Mbps cost a government office $1200 to the current cost of $35 for 1Mbps,” he said.
Since 2011, NITA-U has successfully completed three phases of the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI). With over 2,400km of fibre laid across Uganda, a number of towns have been connected, these include Kampala, Entebbe, Mukono, Jinja, Bombo, Busia, Tororo, Mbale, Malaba, Kumi, Soroti, Lira, Gulu, Elegu, Masindi, Kyenjojo, Fort Portal, Kasese, Bushenyi, Masaka, Mutukula, Mbarara, Kabale, Katuna Border Post among others.
This development is in line with the Digital vision of the Government of Uganda as guided by the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance.
