90 new sites connected to National Backbone Infrastructure

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The Ministry of ICT connected 90 new sites across the country to the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) by the end of the third quarter in the 2023/24 Financial year, the latest government report has indicated.

“Extension of the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) to 90 sites across the country by end Q3, FY2023/24. This brings the cumulative number of sites connected to date under NBI to 1,556. Further extended NBI connectivity to 20 entities that are utilizing bulk internet bandwidth,” the Ministry of Finance report indicates.

The report highlights the ICT ministry achievements which include; the deployment of 28 outdoor WiFi hotspots deployed during the NAM/G77+China summit in Kampala and Entebbe. Out of these, 18 were maintained and remained fully operational post-summit while the 10 were decommissioned after serving their temporary purpose, hosted 23 new systems at the National Data Centre, and maintained 20 Wi-Fi sites.

The Ministry signed a joint venture agreement between UTCL and Rowad Capital Commercial LLC (RCC), a Dubai-based company. This multi-million-dollar joint venture project aims to improve Uganda’s telecommunication sector and enhance the usage of ICT in national development and service delivery.

ICT plays a significant role in the efficient and effective delivery of services across all sectors of the economy.

More achievements

•              Onboarded nine (9) entities onto the Unified Messaging and Collaboration System (UMCS).

•              Supported ten (10) BPO centres by providing subsidized internet and technical support including IT regulation requirements and facilitating the linkage of innovators to potential markets. The supported BPO centres created two hundred three (203) jobs.

•              On-boarded thirteen (13) entities onto the Whole-of-Government integration and data sharing platform in FY2023/24. Cumulatively, 133 entities were onboarded onto the UG Hub platform, out of which 76 were private entities while 57 were public.

•              Developed four new websites including the Presidential CEO Forum and Global Symposium for Regulators-UCC while 5 websites were revamped.

•              Issued thirty-six (36) Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERT) advisories and alerts to enhance cyber-attack defence. In addition, thirty-one (31) cybersecurity awareness sessions were conducted for both the public and private sectors.

•              Onboarded thirteen (13) entities onto a data and information-sharing platform to facilitate seamless data sharing. Cumulatively one hundred thirty-three (133) entities including 76 private entities and 57 public entities have been onboarded.

•              Completed re-designing of the e-citizen portal and initiated onboarding of URSB E-services, Posta Ug e-services, NITA-U e-services, and URA e-service.

•              Updated postcodes of Mbale City, Gulu City, Lira City, Arua City, Jinja city, and municipalities of Iganga, Bugiri, Kumi, and Districts of Ngora and Soroti

•              Developed draft standards for the delivery of e-services through Postal outlets.