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Government has today started the trial provision of free wireless access to internet to Ugandans, starting with the Kampala Central Business District and Entebbe.
It will also be one of the highlights of the Kampala Capital City Authority Street Carnival Sunday. The service will later be rolled out to other areas of Kampala , before a countrywide plan is embarked on.
The National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U) and Minister of Information Communication Technology and National Guidance Frank Tumwebaze unveiled the plans to the press Friday.
City dwellers in selected locations in Kampala and Entebbe will be provided with free Wi-Fi services between 6:00 pm and 6:00 am on week-days, and from Saturday 3:00 pm through to Monday 6:00am over the weekends.
NITA-U head James Saaka said that they have seen the benefits of rolling out the National Data Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) in terms of increased productivity, efficiency and reduced costs of internet bandwidth.
Saaka said that they have taken steps to ensure that the network is safe.
“Because it is shared, everyone will get a maximum of 2 megabytes not for everything. There are restrictions to that internet. You won’t be able to download videos. You won’t have access to those bad sites,”said Saaka.
In addition, to acces the free WiFi in Kampala one has to register – phone number, username, email.
Minister Tumwebaze said providing free wifi is part of the government efforts to improve Service delivery through electronic systems productivity.
He added that Internet access is no longer a luxury but a necessity for all Ugandan citizens noting that the ICT sector must remain at the center of this country-wide transformation steering Uganda to world class efficiency and productivity.
“We are now able to broaden the reach of Internet access to all citizens by effectively utilizing the capacity the country built by investing in the infrastructure (NBI). With the President’s support, Phases I and II of the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) were completed and Phase III of the NBI is nearing completion”. Said Tumwebaze.
Tumwebaze told journalists that free Wi-Fi services will first be rolled out at the Kampala Capital City Authority Street Carnival this Sunday 2nd October 2016 for a full day.
