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africagoodnews

Rwanda's telecom industry will get a boost with the country's latest fibre optic network transmitting large bandwidth from capital Kigali to Gatuna border, through Uganda, Kenya and the East African coast.

Patrick Nyirishema, Deputy CEO-IT, Rwanda Development Board, said that the cable had reached the border at Gatuna and is ready to be leased to telecom companies, writes the East African Business Week publication. Operators in the country will be also able to link their existing fibre optic infrastructure with the pipe, to provide more affordable and reliable telecom services in Rwanda.

The country currently relies on microwave-based connectivity, which can degrade in bad weather conditions. To date, Rwandatel has spent US$200,000 monthly on hiring microwave technology, but the company has now embarked on acquiring fibre optic capacity, having also bought broadband capacity from SEACOM.