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Tonderai Rutsito

Muzarabani recently received its first ever digital information community centre. Thousands gathered in Mashonaland central to mark the international calendar day for World Telecommunications Information Society Day (WTISD) commemorations. For the first time ever, data connectivity powered by NetOne and Vsat solutions from TelOne and Telco switched the community on.This saw hundreds of people from the area jostling to gain

access inside the community Information Centre while thousands seamlessly connected to 3g and 4g GSM data, thanks to the Postal Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, (POTRAZ).

Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Minister Supa Mandiwanzira, who was guest of honour, said that he was passionate about driving President Mugabe’s agenda to connect all the communities

“It is the President’s will to make sure that all communities are connected, we are here to fulfil his digitalisation programme as we connect all communities to the internet and support them with basic electronic services like printing, scanning and photocopying,” said the minister.

Muzarabani Community Information Centre (CIC) was powered up by a Telco Vsat satellite technology giving basic internet access to the community. The internet speeds however were relatively low via the avant satellite link which had a max of only 1mbs up and downlink.

The ministry will need a bigger budget to make sure that real broad band speeds reach these communities.

TelOne had their VSat powering live broadcast via StarFm radio which connected Zimbabweans live over the radio from the remote area.

The minister also said that Muzarabani will soon be receiving latest

anti natural disaster detection technology which is capable of alerting the relevant authorities against

any potential floods or natural disasters.

“The technology gives early warnings against disasters as it works

as an awareness and preparedness system, this programme is fully paid for by the ITU so that we help Muzarabani district, and areas that are

prone to natural disasters in Zimbabwe.”

Minister Mandiwanzira also announced that NetOne and Telecel will begin to share Muzarabani base station for maximum connectivity to the community, a move which is now easy to implement since both mobile networks are now owned Government.

The minister also announced

that the Government has started an innovation fund with more than $1million for young software designer and app developers which will be hosted on the local servers for all telecommunications operator to kickstart revenue sharing model in Zimbabwe.

The move is meant to stimulate local app development and create employment among youths while saving the nation from importing technology and create a platform that allows Zimbabweans to export technology.

The World Telecommunications Information Society Day (WTISD) commemorations are held annually across all the national provinces as Zimbabwe is a member of the International Telecommunications Union, (ITU). The event is driven by the Ministry of ICT Postal and Courier Services through the national regulator Potraz and Zimbabwe has been observing the day since 1982.