Fiber optic cables are being laid across the country (File photo)

A new global report on internet connectivity has put Rwanda among the top three African countries with the fastest internet broadband connectivity and downloading speeds, ranking the country ahead of more developed African economies such as South Africa and Egypt.

The global study, done by Ookla, a world leader in calculating broadband connection speed and web-based network diagnostic applications, was conducted in 180 countries, ranking Rwanda 87th worldwide and 3rd in Africa.

The report shows that Rwanda boasts of high download and upload speeds while its neighbours Kenya and Tanzania are ranked at 103 and 105 respectively.

The report released by the US-based firm on July 17, is based on the study compiled using over one billion results collected from Speedtest.net and Pingtest.net. For downloading speeds, Rwanda has 2.53MB/second.

South Korea emerged the leading nation with the fastest broadband with downloads and uploads speed standing at 32.27 Mbps. Rwanda internet speed supersedes that of an average African nation download speed of 1.6 Mbps.

The report also indicates that the slowest speeds in the world are found in Zambia, at an average 0.26 Mbps.

In terms of uploads speeds Rwanda is ranked at 36, with a speed of 2.03MB/second, putting it alongside China, France and Finland, some of the world’s leading ICT countries.

Rwanda also beats Uganda in terms of uploads while its other neighbours Kenya and Tanzania are trailing behind.

The report also showed that internet users in Rwanda take less time uploading content on line than South Africans, a country which hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The Rwandan Government has invested heavily in ICT and plans are underway to make the country an ICT hub.

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President Kagame, Dr. Hamadoun Toure, (L) and Mr. Carlos Slim (R) at the meeting yesterday (Courtesy Photo)

President Paul Kagame, has called on the world to recognise the important link between broadband technology and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s).

Kagame, made the remarks, yesterday, at the first meeting of the recently launched Broadband Commission for Digital Development held at the International Telecommunication Union headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland which he co-chaired with Honorary Lifetime Chairman of Grupo Carso, Mr. Carlos Slim.

He challenged the newly formed commission to address the pressing issue of coming up with effective recommendations on how to capitalize on progress already made, make it replicable and far reaching so that citizens all over the world are better connected.

“I think we will all agree that ICTs and Broadband in particular, cannot be an end in themselves – we want fast and efficient communication as solutions to fast track socio-economic transformation in our societies,” Kagame said.

“This is why the link between Broadband and delivering on millennium development goals is so important.”

Dr. Hamadoun Toure, who serves as vice- chair of the commission urged all governments to view broadband as part of their ‘basic national infrastructure’.

“In the 21st century, affordable, ubiquitous broadband networks will be as critical to social and economic prosperity as networks like transport, water and power,” he said.

“Not only does broadband deliver benefits across every sector of society, but it also helps promote social and economic development, and will be key in helping us get the Millennium Development Goals back on track,” Toure said.

The commission which is comprised of some 30 commissioners representative of varying sectors including technology, business and social sectors adopted 10 written recommendations to fast track the deployment of broadband infrastructure globally.

In his closing remarks to the meeting, President Kagame thanked the commissioners for their contribution in making the recommendations.

“The combined knowledge, experiences and commitment of members in this room demonstrates that we have what it takes to make the goal of universal broadband access, and the benefits this offers to the world’s people, attainable,” Kagame said.

“There is no doubt, that using Broadband to unleash peoples’ full potential is an economic imperative for attaining an inclusive and prosperous global economic society.”

The recommendations adopted during the meeting will be compiled into a final report that will be presented to the UN Secretary General, September 19, ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Kigali — A two week continental meeting that will bring together the African Network Operators’ Group (AFNOG) and the African Network Information Centre (AfriNIC) will, between May 23 and June 4th, open in Kigali.

This was disclosed yesterday by Geoffrey Kayonga, the CEO of RICTA (Rwanda Information Communication Technology Association), while addressing members of the press at Telecom house.

“We are set to have a successful forum and we are very pleased with the government of Rwanda through the Ministry of ICT, RDB and Rwanda Utility Regulatory Agency (RURA) for supporting us in organising the forum,” he said.

He added that, among other activities, AfriNIC which is a body in charge of management of internet protocol resources will hold trainings and discussions on IPV6, the next generation of the internet protocol.

“The 6th version of this protocol will mitigate the effect of the shortcomings of the currently used 4th version,” he noted.

He explained that over 100 IT experts are expected to attend the training sessions while Rwanda will be represented by 20.

Dr Ignace Gatare, the Minister in the President’s Office in charge of ICT, while speaking to journalists, said that Rwanda, through the visionary leadership of President Paul Kagame, strongly believes in the transformation of the ICT sector.

“We are very grateful for this opportunity to host such a high level event. There are numerous benefits from the meeting as a country that is very keen on providing skills to her people to create an ICT-based-society and economy,” he said.

Gatare stressed that the forthcoming meetings are timely and ‘extremely important’ and he strongly believes that they will help in addressing future ICT challenges.

He commended RICTA and all other sponsors for joining their efforts to host the event which will gather IT professionals from around the globe.

“This is indeed perfectly in line with our ambition and goals of promoting the dissemination of knowledge in ICT in Rwanda.”

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Kigali — On the second day of the ongoing AU summit in Addis Ababa, President Paul Kagame, along with other Heads of State, participated in a discussion on ICT on the continent, co-organized by the African Development Bank and the World Bank.

The working breakfast chaired by AfDB President Donald Kaberuka and WB President Robert Zoellick, focused on ways ICT can have an impact on the continent beyond infrastructure and how the two institutions can increase their support in improving interconnection between African countries.

It was also revealed that the East African Centre for Excellence for ICT is to be set up in Rwanda, and that the project is already well under way.

President Kagame later in the day participated in a luncheon organized by the Alliance of African Leaders against Malaria (ALMA) where the Heads of State discussed the current situation of Malaria on the continent.

Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo who was at the lunch said: “This event drew many Heads of State whose countries have been active in implementing preventive mechanisms for malaria. Rwanda of course is one of the countries that have registered significant success with relatively easy mechanisms, including the use of insecticide impregnated nets and some level of control of social and municipal structures. This meeting was a way to ensure that the momentum in this anti-malaria program continues.”

In addition to the events held today, President Kagame also met with US Assistant Secretary of State, Johnnie Carson, where among other issues they discussed the much-improved relations between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and ongoing efforts to develop economic cooperation such as joint extraction of methane gas in Lake Kivu.

On the situation in Darfur, President Kagame pointed out the need to reinforce UNAMID to improve the effectiveness of the peacekeeping mission in which more than 3000 Rwandan troops deployed.

Also discussed was climate change and the concerns as well as potential contribution of African countries in fighting the threat of global warming.