Government Completes Tabora–Mpanda National ICT Broadband Backbone Link

The Government of Tanzania has completed construction of a National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) segment linking Tabora to Mpanda via Sikonge, Ipole, and Inyonga in the 2025/26 financial year.

The Deputy Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Dr. Switbert Zacharia Mkama, announced the completion on behalf of the Minister for Communications and Information Technology.

Mkama was responding to a parliamentary question from Special Seats Member of Parliament Taska Restituta Mbogo, who asked when the backbone would be extended from Ipole Village in Tabora District to Inyonga Ward in Mlele District, an area she noted faces the challenge of dangerous wildlife.

He said the Government recognises the importance of ensuring the backbone reaches districts across the country so that citizens can access high-speed internet and participate fully in the digital economy.

Mkama explained that the backbone connects to the infrastructure of the country’s various communication service providers, which enables communication and internet services to reach citizens in the areas the network passes through.

He noted that the new Tabora to Mpanda segment was built using the electricity infrastructure of the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO).

Mkama added that the next step is to connect communication service providers in the area so that they can deliver communication and internet services to residents.

National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB)

The Tanzanian Government began implementing the NICTBB in 2009, planned across four phases using optical dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) network technology in collaboration with the Chinese Government through the China International Telecommunication Construction Corporation.

The backbone was originally built to carry international undersea cable capacity inland, connecting to the SEACOM cable in July 2009 and the EASSY cable in April 2010.

The NICTBB is state-run infrastructure that private telecom operators connect to in order to reach end users, rather than a retail internet provider itself.

The network was designed to extend connectivity from the coast into inland regions, the same rationale applied to newly built segments such as the Tabora, Sikonge, Ipole, Inyonga and Mpanda route.

The introduction of the fibre optic network through the NICTBB has reduced the cost of phone calls by nearly 40% over three years.