The Government of Rwanda on Wednesday, March 22 launched the "School Connectivity Program”, aimed at connecting all primary and secondary schools in the country to high-speed internet by the end of 2024.

This program will start with a pilot phase connecting 500 schools through Starlink, a satellite broadband service run by Elon Musk’s private space company, SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, California, USA.

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As part of the launch, the first school to be connected under the program, the Groupe Scolaire Gaseke, in Gicumbi District was visited by different cabinet ministers as well as Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The Minister of ICT and Innovation, Paula Ingabire said, "The Tony Blair Institute’s initiative through the Tomorrow Partnership is supporting the Government of Rwanda by providing expertise and technical assistance, so that we are able to dream together, co-design and implement impactful programmes, like this week’s launch of high-speed satellite connectivity for schools in Rwanda.”

The Government of Rwanda has already connected 44.5 per cent of public schools across the country via fibre optic, the One Government Network project, and the Giga Initiative. Through the Tomorrow Partnership with the Government of Rwanda, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) has committed to connect 50 of the 500 pilot schools.

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One of the key sectors for increasing access to broadband services is the Education sector.

Gaspard Twagirayezu, Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education said: "We want to have all our schools connected to the internet, but there are regions that do not have coverage or are difficult to connect. So having the option of satellite is really important, and we are looking forward to connecting some of our most remote schools using this type of connectivity.”

Talking about their partnership with the Government of Rwanda, Stella Mugabo, Tony Blair Institute’s Country Director for Rwanda, said: "Connecting these schools demonstrates the art of the possible, and the fundamental mission of The Tomorrow Partnership: provide problem-solvers the technology to enable the best possible solutions. It’s clear that when we bring policymakers who are committed to accelerating the delivery of real change for their people together with technology companies like Starlink, you can feel the energy and a real excitement around the potential for progress.”

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Rwanda has 95 per cent 4G coverage and a broadband fibre backbone in all major cities, but due to Rwanda’s geography, some areas of the country are hard to reach at an affordable cost and good reliability, using these technologies.

In February 2023, Rwanda officially launched Starlink satellite internet services, to improve access to affordable, fast and reliable internet connectivity in remote areas.