Rwanda launches 4G LTE service

Rwanda has become the latest country in Africa to launch the fast 4G internet service in Tuesday.

The minister for Youth and ICT Jean Philbert Nsengimana said “This launch enables people to accomplish their dreams and new ideas will blossom. The launch of 4G LTE is one of many activities that our Government is putting in place so as to achieve a middle class knowledge based economy targets by 2020,” Minister Nsengimana stressed.
“As a regulator we have an interest in ensuring that all the licensed entities are profitable because it is only then that we can have sustainability of the services they are issuing in the market. By issuing a license it shows that we are content that it is good business,”

Across the continent, there’s been a sharp rise in the number of people seeking access to higher data rates as citizens and residents begin to appreciate doing business online. In Nigeria, Spectranet and Glo are said to have launched 4G-LTE internet services that have attracted commendations from some quarters but as demand rises, will they be able to carry out proportional expansions. Many customers have lately been complaining about internet speeds from some ISPs as demand grows. On thing is for sure though, if a provider can guarantee good service, Africa being largely a consumer market will appreciate it. People really don’t mind paying for a good service as long as its there for them to use as and when required.

I’ll be co-authoring a paper with Geoffrey Nwachukwu on ISPs with regards to service delivery and billing soon.