With the power of ICTs, still many rural communities in Tanzania lacks crucial information related to the awareness of HIV/AIDS spread and ways to tackle the pandemic. About 80 percent of Tanzania rural population lives in dire poverty in some of the most marginalized communities. People in these areas faces challenges brought about because of the poor infrastructure exacerbated by bad roads and as a result, ICT services in these areas are not efficient. It’s easy to see under the already compounded situation how difficult it is for people living in these circumstances to align themselves with the ICTs of the challenging world. ICTs are very important in spreading democracy and contributing towards development. But for communities in rural Tanzania, the question is “how can people benefits from ICTs” Tanzanians depend on rural economy to pursue their intended development goals and about 80 percent of the national economic development is largely contributed by people living in rural areas. Despite of the efforts shown by some, still the basic use of the available information superhighways which are to help them speed up their development processes are limited an aspect that accounts for the low levels of their production capacity. Various ICT stakeholders have attributed the reasons for being lack of knowledge as well as negligence by the government which they accuse to have not yet sufficiently addressed the ICTs issues for the specific developments and their importance in general. Basic communications such as internet surfing is by far a major demand as of present, but for a number of reasons its expansion to more remote rural areas is very scanty. The accessibility of other ICT gadgets such as faxes, mobile phones, TV stations and their satellites are less established or not established at all in most rural areas. A cell phone needs electricity to charge, lack of infrastructure means no electricity, thus there are no cell phones. Who can spend money on a newspaper or a magazine when the majority of the people can’t even afford to buy food and soap?
Let the old people in rural communities have access to the ICT tools. Basic communications such as internet surfing is by far a major demand as of present, but for a number of reasons its expansion to more remote rural areas is very scanty.
Media outlets in the country have tried their level best to reach out to rural communities in their roles to inform, educate and entertain, but their efforts have been constrained owing to poor infrastructural facilities which can be found in these regions. Once again, however poverty has been a major obstacle and most people live from hand to mouth in a daily basis. This makes difficult for them to afford even the smallest and cheapest radio set. Radio is the easiest and cheapest way for rural dwellers to learn of the changing world and it remains a dominant ICT tool. The internet is another cheap way to access information and communicate, but in Tanzanian rural areas, this is still a nightmare. Most of the districts in the country do not have internet services. Statistics shows that, out of over 250 districts found in the country, about 16 districts have no electricity power supply from the national electricity grid. Despite the current development with increased coverage in bigger townships in urban centers and along several main highways, still the majority of the people residing in most remote rural areas of Tanzania do not get reliable internet connection. There is a preconception that the risk of establishing viable ICT such as mobile telecommunication in rural areas is too high. Some of the reasons include the investment budget, plans and the need to cover very big areas by mobile operator and other relevant investors. But on the other hand, general knowledge on IT service applications and the basic communication possibilities with mobile phones is limited. To achieve a reliable communication network, most people have regularly or often preferred mobile phones even in areas where there is no easily accessible connection. Most of those who are business oriented regularly operate mobile phones even if they are only for usage when they are in towns. The radio is the beast form of communication as it is cheaper to afford and communities do not need to be literate in order to feel the impact of the message. Unlike the internet and television which needs stable infrastructure. The devices enables poor people to resolve their isolation as they have no other reliable access to information. Television sets can support participatory development as well as allow the voices of the rural people to be heard through a range of options that can be operated provided it should have an \elaborate means of a stable infrastructure. But to the great extent, most television channels viewed by people from far flung areas in the country, do not get clear images compared to viewers who are closer to the city of Dar es Salaam where most television stations are based. Study has established that, a television viewer in Tarime district in far northern part of the country and that of Newala district in Mtwara region in Southern tip of the country or in Muleba district in Kagera region far in western horizon, have to connect their television sets with a satellite antennas in order to get a reflection of clear images. Without these antennas, TV connections is a big problem. This shows that, TV infrastructure in the country is not stable.
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