Google bringing super-fast internet to Kampala

By Samuel Ouga

Google has launched an initiative to bring fast and more reliable internet service to Kampala. Through Project Link the search giant is building fibre-optic networks that will make it possible for more people to connect to a faster internet service.

Google chose Kampala, as the first capital city in Africa to benefit from Project Link. According to Kelly Mason; a Google executive in Kampala, Google launched Project Link to bring faster, more reliable Internet to the places and people that need it in Kampala. “With Project Link, we're building a fiber-optic network throughout the metro area that connects local Internet providers to high quality infrastructure, which better enables those providers to bring high-quality Internet access to their customers,” she said.

Project Link is underway, with hundreds of kilometers of cables already built. “We are already connecting our ISP customers to our network,” revealed Kelly. Google is currently connecting Kampala's ISPs and mobile operators to the link. The connected ISPs and mobile operators will then provide direct services to end users within Kampala.
“The goal of Google’s Project Link is to provide needed infrastructure that can help improve the quality, speed, and reliability of Internet access for the people, businesses, universities, and innovators of Kampala,” summed up Kelly Mason.
Google is basically strengthening a crucial piece of the internet supply chain -- the piece that exists between the undersea cables bringing data to Africa and the services of mobile network providers and ISPs in Kampala.

The nearly three million people living in and around Kampala will now get a chance to experience fast speed internet that will also be easily available as Google reportedly intends to lay the cables into all areas of human settlement with in Kampala. The current slow pre-broadband speeds and the unreliable connections will be no more, in Kampala, once Google’s Project Link fully takes shape. The initiative is putting into place a super-fast, high-capacity fiber network to enable any local mobile operator or internet service provider to connect more people in Kampala to a faster, more reliable internet.
According to Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) the country has more than 5 million internet users. A number that is rapidly growing.

More broadband – faster economic growth
There may be more people using mobile phones than have broadband access, but studies and global trends show that broadband has a much stronger direct correlation to economic growth than access to a cellphone, landline or other Internet platforms. More broadband means faster economic growth.
Investing in broadband is an investment in economic growth and an indirect investment in development. If broadband is made accessible and affordable, it would have a direct impact on health, education and standard of living; the three main indicators in the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI).

Benefits:
Connecting people
Internet access lets people reach friends and family in different countries and discover new social, educational and professional opportunities.

Growing business
Entrepreneurs get a global audience at their fingertips, as well as the benefit of seeing real-time news or sharing massive files with ease.
This will also boost e-commerce
Better services
Companies can deliver faster and more accurate services, leading to more empowered customers, and stronger commerce.