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Broadband strategy to address Internet gaps, says Macra

 

Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) has said the National Broadband Strategy will address supply and demand gaps in the country’s broadband network.

Macra director general Godfrey Itaye said this in Blantyre during the National Broadband Strategy Workshop aimed at coming up with recommendations from stakeholders towards the development of the draft broadband strategy.

Itaye (L) interacts with Eric Tyson from InterConnect and Lemekezani Chisambiro(C) of Macra

He said without the strategy, there is no coordinated approach in terms of investment, adding that such meetings are crucial as they provide a coordinated approach towards the development of broadband in the country.

Said Itaye: “Broadband access and adoption can help to promote economic development and social equity while promoting public health, public safety and education opportunities for Malawians across the country.

“We are living in a global village where information and communication technology has taken centre stage and it naturally follows that as a country, we have to stay ahead of the technological curve.”

He, however, said there is need to understand that to meet the needs of the current and future generations and attract new businesses that will grow the country’s economy, there is need to build infrastructure such as broadband.

Itaye bemoaned low Internet usage in the country with a tele-density of about 19 percent, way below the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) regional average of around 40 percent.

Figures from Macra show that the country has 22 licensed Internet service providers, with 10 of them being active serving a limited customer base.

Davood Molkdar, an official from InterConnect Communications, a consulting firm based in the United Kingdom, emphasised the need for African countries to uncover gaps that are there which are affecting many countries in terms of Internet usage.

He said African countries, including Malawi, should also set goals in terms of improving infrastructure, Internet speed and penetration in rural and urban areas.

“We believe these are realistic goals that will help the nation reach higher penetration by 2022,” he said.

Present during the workshop included representatives from Airtel Malawi and TNM plc.

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