99% cut for internet costs

Government is expecting an Internet broadband cost reduction from $3,000 (Frw1.7 million) to $25 (Frw13,800) for each megabyte per second when the country’s national internet is connected to the coastal submarine cables by 2010. Two of the submarine cables being targeted include the East Africa Submarine System (EASSy) and The East African Marine System (TEAMS). Early this week, the project was boosted by a 24 million (Frw13.2 billion) grant for Regional Communication Infrastructure Programme Rwanda Project (RCIPRW) from the World Bank. The $24m is part of the World Bank’s $424 million Regional Communication Infrastructure Programme which is designed to improve the regional communications infrastructure and increase the deployment of e-government in Southern and Eastern Africa. At present Rwanda largely depends on expensive satellite infrastructure for internet. Once the cables are laid, access to international bandwidth connected to Rwanda will increase more than three times and the price will fall by over 50 per cent. Rwanda not yet ranked in global competitiveness The absence of a World Economic Forum (WEF) office in Rwanda meant the country was left out of the World Competitiveness Report 2008-2009. The annual report produced by WEF, an independent organisation that promotes entrepreneurship in the global public interest, focuses on competitiveness in a given economy. While commenting on WEF report, Vincent Karega, the former State Minister for Industry and Investment Promotion, said that the presence of an office in the country would facilitate the forum to work with its partner institutes and business organization to conduct surveys in the country. Karega, the State Minister for Environment and Mining, said that Rwanda would rank well, owing to the introduction of economic reforms that promote competitiveness. The report covered 131 countries worldwide. The rankings are calculated from both publicly available data and the Executive Opinion Survey. Executives awarded Fifty business executives were awarded certificates after concluding a three-day training on micro-economics of competitiveness, aimed at promoting business and economic competitiveness in Rwanda. The programme explored government’s efforts to push for economic development on national and internationals levels and is expected to promote government efforts towards economic growth through a competitive and liberal business environment. Recently, the country’s Investment and Export Promotion Agency (RIEPA) launched the Rwanda Competitiveness and Export Fund (RWACEF) for private companies to boost their competitiveness on the international market. The three day training organised by Private Sector Federation (PSF) was facilitated by professors from Harvard Business School’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness based in America. It attracted among others Anthony Masozera of MTN-Rwanda and Robert Mathu of the Capital Markets Advisory Council (CMAC). Rwandatel’s GSM to support e-betting Rwandatel’s upgraded infrastructure will enable Lotto Rwanda to sell lottery tickets using mobile phones. It will also allow subscribers to participate in on-line betting and on-line predictions for international games including soccer. Phillip Brizoua, Director General of Lotto Rwanda, said that instead of spending on airtime, many Rwandans will be able to generate revenue through betting by from their mobile phone. Rwandatel, Lotto Rwanda and Tilia Games signed an agreement for cooperation as Rwandatel is in final stages of completely switching to GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) technology. GSM is a digital mobile telephone system that is widely used in Europe and other parts of the world. Lap Green, a Libyan consortium that owns a stake in Rwandatel, has invested $56 million (Frw30.8 billion) in equipment and training to prepare staff for the new GSM technology with many features. Zinnia communal market opens A new communal market called Zinnia in Kicukiro District officially opened and is expected to accommodate 700 vendors, according to market officials. Jean de Dieu Musoni, the district director of planning, said the official launch was expected earlier this year but was delayed because the district authority was still working on the rental fees and also drafting rules of the market. The market construction co-financed by the district treasury and Community Development Fund (CDF) aims to reduce poverty in the district by facilitating business operations. One vendor, Janet Mukakaragwa, said the new market will protect goods that were previously ruined by exposure to the sun. Ends