Uganda is among 11 African countries set to benefit from an initial $16.2 million budget for Africa’s National Broadband Mapping Systems project. This announcement was made during the recently concluded Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-24) hosted in Kampala, Uganda by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Supported by the European Commission, the project aims to establish broadband mapping systems to foster investment and digital transformation across Africa. According to an ITU statement, the project will use data from these mapping systems to identify gaps in internet connectivity, coverage, quality, and affordability in the participating countries. The initial beneficiaries include Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The ITU stated that the programme will “enable data-driven decision-making for investments in digital infrastructure,” thereby fostering investment and digital transformation in Africa.
At the symposium, African regulators endorsed a set of guidelines to maximize the benefits of transformative information and communication technologies (ICTs). The “GSR-24 Best Practice Guidelines” agreed upon by ICT regulators include considerations for balancing innovation with regulation to positively impact societies and economies through emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).
“With one-third of humanity still offline and women and other vulnerable groups on the wrong side of the globe’s digital divides, GSR-24 and the Best Practice Guidelines highlight the innovation, trust, and inclusivity that we need in the policy and regulatory environment,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin.
The symposium, organized by the International Telecommunication Union, brought together over 600 participants, including ministers, heads of regulatory authorities, industry executives, and academics, to discuss pressing regulatory issues.
