AfricaPress-Tanzania: MINISTER for Communications and Information Technology, Dr Faustine Ndungulile, has directed the Universal Communications Service Access Fund (UCSAF) to use affordable technology to ensure the remaining 361 wards countrywide have access to telecommunications.
He gave the directive during his familiarisation tour of UCSAF at the weekend, saying much as they had done a good job to ensure more than 3,119 villages countrywide, especially those in rural areas had access to communications, they should opt for affordable technology to cover the remaining areas in a short period.
Dr Ndungulile said UCSAF should be innovative and strategise their focus, using best technology, which was cost effective.
With the changing technological advances, Dr Ndungulile said, the country must move faster to utilise new technologies.
“In this digital era, information technology is a must for people of all cadres and from all walks of life, so that they can conduct whatever they want which needs information technology access,” he said.
He used the platform to instruct UCSAF that it was time now they must upgrade from 2G to 3G technology since under the current situation access to internet was central.
Dr Ndungulile said information technology sector was of paramount importance to the country’s socioeconomic development, thus having needed infrastructures in all avenues was something that needed to be given special attention.
The minister said there must be a platform where all concerned stakeholders met to address the challenges.
For her part, UCSAF Chief Executive Officer Justina Mashiba thanked the minister for advice, saying they would change their way of doing things.
“We will think outside the box and change how we operate, the ultimate goal being to improve access to commutations in all parts of the country,” she said.
She noted that they would opt for less expensive technology, saying by the end of this month, they would meet with telecommunications tower owners to see how best they would achieve the objective of covering rural areas.
