11 May 2018

Rwandan president Paul Kagame said all other digital services run on top of broadband. PHOTO: © ITU/M.JACOBSON-GONZALEZ

Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame has said Africa's economic transformation requires broadband infrastructure with an emphasis on both access and affordability. 

Speaking at the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development’s 2018 Spring meeting held in Kigali in early May, Kagame said: “The reality is that all other digital services, whether in commerce or education or healthcare, run on top of broadband.

“Africa’s size, geography and settlement patterns mean that we must rely on a variety of different technologies to deliver broadband including satellite, fibre optic and mobile.”

During the two-day event, 34 commissioners – representing the broadband industry, governments and UN agencies –  convened to discuss key issues related to the role of broadband in advancing the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Kagame told the gathering: “It is up to us to lead the way in driving innovation both in policy and business models in order to speed up the provision of broadband where it has been slowest to reach.”

Delegates also heard from the Broadband Commission’s working group on vulnerable countries which issued a report on for national development in four least developed countries (LDCs): Cambodia, Rwanda, Senegal and Vanuatu.

The group said that despite their different market environments, broadband coverage has increased notably and become more affordable for users in all four countries over the last few years. 

However, the report also raises concerns that the demand for broadband and its productive use in LDCs has not matched the growing supply.