The deputy speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa has asked the new players in the field of providing internet, Canal Box to fast track offering access to education websites at no cost.
Tayebwa who was speaking at the launch of GVA (Group Vivendi Africa) launch of Canal Box at the Serena Conference Centre in Kampala on July 10 said this will give learners easy access to information.
“I ask you to be the first internet provider to zero-rate education websites. This will be a great opportunity for our learners. Also, ban pornography as it adds no value to our economy,” Tayebwa said, adding that the protection of children and what they consume online should be a priority.
The deputy speaker revealed that fibre internet has mainly been a thing for government agencies but with CanalBox’s coming into the game, it is going to be a game changer.
“I hope Canal Box can go beyond the internet and do landline and television. I request the Uganda Communications Commission to encourage some players to come up with a single package that caters for television, landline and internet,” he said.
According to Tayebwa, the government is committed to supporting efforts to increase broadband penetration, as part of its vision 2040, conceptualised to strengthen the fundamentals of the economy by enhancing the abundant opportunities around the country.
He revealed that increasing the number of internet service providers in the country not only benefits individual Ugandans, as they get to experience improved service delivery through innovation and competition, but it also improves the economy as a whole.
Speaking at the event, GVA Group Chief Executive Officer, Jean Francois Duboy said when they came to Uganda, 11 months ago, there were 30,000 Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) Uganda and they have so far connected nearly 5000 homes.
He explained that those numbers would translate into 15 per cent of the market share but the competition has not been idle.
“They too have got into this. So we are probably closer to 10% but this is not a zero-sum game. The increase in the usage of broadband helps the sector and helps Ugandans,” he said.
Duboy shared that they have invested in several redundancies to ensure they are always up, though they look forward to the initiative by UCC to open up the Mutukula corridor.
He said apart from employing 200 directly, their quality of service can be gleaned from the speed offering they deliver.
“However, we need to overcome the hurdle that the cost of internet in Uganda is the highest in the region if you exclude South Sudan, and continue to make, with the help of the stakeholders present, broadband affordable to all.”
GVA (Group Vivendi Africa) founded in 2015 builds, operates and markets its fibre optic networks to the home (or FTTH for short), under the brand, CanalBox, offering unlimited fibre internet to homes and businesses
It operates in 13 cities in eight African countries, namely; Gabon, Togo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, DRC, and now, is officially launching in its 8th country, Uganda (in Kampala).
With a mission of democratising broadband internet by prioritising affordability and increased coverage, GVA officially launched its new home packages, of 50Mbps for Shs110,000, and 200Mbps for Shs200,000.
