PARIS, March 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Paul Kagame is expected in Paris, France on Thursday where he will attend a closed door Broadband Commission meeting.
The Broadband Commission, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's baby project to drive the Millennium Development Goal for Digital Development, is co-chaired by Kagame and Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim.
During the meet in Paris, organized by International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and UNESCO; policy makers, industry leaders and government representatives, will discuss affordable and universal access to broadband.
UNESCO says it's important to build inclusive knowledge societies putting mankind's concerns, interests and needs at the center of the debate.
Rwanda is heavily investing in infrastructure and policies that intend to transform the society into a knowledge based economy.
This, the government says, will require citizens to have access to accurate and real time information, all of which are provided by ICT tools such as broadband connectivity.
In November 2014, Rwanda launched the fourth Generation Long-Term Evolution (4G-LTE), high speed internet that supports over five times data capacity of up to 100Mbps speeds.
Rwanda says with the launch of 4GLTE, it projects to increase ICT's contribution to GDP by 4% this year, up from 3% last year. ICT also facilitates other sectors including banking, tourism, and hospitality.
Patrick Nyirishema the Director General of Rwanda's Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) says, "Whatever benefits citizens were receiving due to ICT development in the country, will now increase in terms of speed and efficiency."
With 3,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable connecting more than 317 institutions in all 30 districts, the country intends to increase internet usage to 95% by 2017 from the current 25%, boosting Rwanda's GDP by 13%.
Rwanda's mobile penetration, provided by MTN, Tigo, Airtel, is estimated to be over 71.6%.
Supported by Broadband Systems Corporation, New Artel, Altech Stream and Rwandatel, the telecom companies are under pressure to roll out connectivity as the country experiences a growing demand in e-commerce and e-services, and mobile technologies.
President Kagame is pushing for a global deeper financial inclusion, innovation, ensuring food security, job creation for the youth as well as empowerment for women.
In October 2014, he told the ITU Plenipotentiary Meeting in Busan, S. Korea that this is because, "the world is heading into a future where ICTs fuel economic growth."
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SOURCE KT Press
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