Government is to spend $40 million (Frw21, 6 billion) to roll out the national optic fibre cable to rural areas.

Once fully operational, the number of internet users will increase, telecommunication costs will reduce and quality of services in the country improve.

Patrick Nyirishema, Deputy Executive Director of Rwanda Information Technology Agency (Rita), said the Word Bank is funding a countrywide survey that will result into a design of fibre network.

After laying the national fibre network, government will negotiate with other countries to connect Rwanda cable to the sea.

"We will look at different options, negotiate with different countries who will give access to their fibre cable to connect us to Dar es Salaam or Mombassa,” he said.

The optic fibre submarine cable network for Africa will connect the continent to Europe, the Middle East and India and will also interconnect with other international cable systems.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) will finance studies on how the cable will be run. It is envisaged that once implemented, the NEPAD ICT Broadband Infrastructure Initiative will provide quality and affordable telecommunications connectivity to the whole of the African continent.

The inaugural signing of the NEPAD ICT broadband infrastructure network was held in Kigali, Rwanda on 29 August 2006.

The first seven countries that signed the protocol include Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.

Subsequently, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Zambia, signed it too. Government is already identifying families interested in owning computers.

"We are trying to work with local leaders on from cells to the district level register those who are interested in owning computers ad facilitate them to negotiate for bans loans”, Romain Murenzi Minister in charge of ICT in the President’s Office said recently.

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