08 November 2019

The National Information Technology Authority of Uganda (NITA-U) has hit back at claims that it has been wasting public funds with its roll-out of a national backbone network.

Recent press reports in the east African country have accused NITA officials of both corruption and mismanaging the deployment.

NITA-U responded with a statement, in which it said originators of the fake news were clearly determined to downplay Uganda’s progress in achieving widespread connectivity, which has significantly lowered bandwidth costs for customers over the last decade.

The body also said that at the start of the project in 2008, the cost per 1Mbps was US$1,200 but that has now dropped to US$70. 

The agency added that 3,000km of fibre-optic cable has already been deployed and a fourth phase of the roll-out is under way.