In what seems to be yet another milestone in increasing broadband access, Rwanda has embarked on cloud computing, an innovation that is seen to ease the way business is conducted.Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale similar to a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network (typically the Internet) .The system, which allows corporations and businesses to have their data hosted and accessed any time of need, and provide high speed broadband internet will see businesses cut back on ICT bills and increase data security. “Our job is to ensure that our customers don’t need to construct their own data centre. They don’t need to have a lot of staff,” Antoine Sebera, the acting Chief Executive Officer, Broadband Systems Corporation.Alongside data security, the company will also provide high speed internet, wireless broadband services through modems, wireless egg router connecting five computers and CPE router for ten users and VPN for intra networking for companies.Sebera says that with cloud computing would facilitate businesses to remotely network with their branches across the country, and connect with other local and international markets with ease. “So we have them (data) hosted here and with the help of high speed connection, you access them as if they were in your office,” he addedBroad Band Systems Corporation-BSC is a US based company that is currently rolling out the technology with Rwanda among its first destinations in sub-Saharan Africa.Michael S Fox, the Chief Finance Officer of BSC notes that the innovation would also provide high speed broadband internet to individuals and corporate bodies, a thing he believes would boost broadband access and link the country to the outside world.“Broadband access is still a challenge in Africa but we have seen some progress in the recent four or five years and what the continent’s economy needs to grow now is a robust technology infrastructure,” he noted.He adds that “because such technology creates job opportunities, and that’s why we have come in to boost it.”John Gara, the Chief Executive officer of RDB believes that the new technology would help businesses to reduce on their operational costs thus translating into ease of doing business and help the country to grow into a service based economy.“I think we are getting better in terms of broadband access. We will soon start seeing the benefits on the side of the end user.” The country has been pushing to increase broadband internet penetration at relatively lower costs with the recent being the agreement between the government and the Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited to provide 1.244 gigabytes of international bandwidth.Rwanda currently uses around 1.1 to 1.2 Giga bytes per second of the international bandwidth compared to current demand of 5 gigabytes needed to connect to the rest of the world.
