After 47 years of independence, Tanzania sees the benefits of ICTs

TANZANIA commemorated its 47TH anniversary of independence on 9th December 2008 with the country urging its citizens to cope with the emerging technologies in a bid to attain the millennium development goals. The Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been increasingly seen as integral part to the development processes. Most observers may have noted that the global economy is in the digital age and the information has become the primary source for global economic development, and in view of this, Tanzania has taken technological stride to meet its targets. Art the same time, developing countries are increasingly alarmed at the emerging digital divide in which those without the latest (most expensive) tools such as in the mobile phones will find themselves unable to compete in the global market place. Since the ICT industry is broad, it should be noted that this discussion will focus on the internet and the telephone. This is not because other ICTs, such as radio and the postal services are unimportant, far from it. The radio is used almost universally, making it a powerful tool in disseminating information among the poor. According to studies, levels of radio concentration in developing countries such as Tanzania are on average about 10 times higher than telecommunication expansion. Postal service offers through over 650,000 post offices worldwide, are also far from becoming obsolete. Indeed, in as advanced markets, users of internet technologies are those that send and receive most mail, reads a line in a book titled “Information and Communication Technologies and Broad-Based Development”.
Internet use is spreading among Tanzanians, as government institutions use it for the dissemination of information, and Universities such as the Open University of Tanzania has has set up projects for distance learning and as cyber cafés become common place in major towns and cities. However, it is necessary to remember that the phenomenon only touches a minority of the community” writes Safari Mafu of Sokoine Universality of Agriculture in a paper titled,”From the Oral Tradition to the Information Era:” the case for Tanzania.

Open University of Tanzania, headquarter building in Dar es Salaam. The University has been providing distant higher learning programs in Tanzania for undergraduate as well as Masters degreee programs and post graduate diplomas since 1992

According to him, in a situation where the electricity does not cover the whole country, where the service providers are still experiencing difficulties and where there is a large group with no surplus revenue, internet use will remain an elite activity. This limitation is underscored by the language of the internet. History shows that in the span of just less than two centuries, Tanzania witnessed a rapid transition from oral means of gathering and disseminating information and knowledge to transmission through the printed word to electronic means of information collection, storage and retrieval. “This rapid development of means of transmission has also meant a change in the medium of transmission, with both beneficial and detrimental effects for most Tanzanians” scholars say. Latest changes in how communication and information dispense are now causing the same kind of seismic move that occurred in the early colonial period. Information technology in general and the internet in particular are causing great changes in learning, literacy practices and communication. The very language of exchange has once again shifted . Challenges posed by the digital divide and the risk of being excluded further from the knowledge economy and social development, has propelled the government to put in place a policy framework through which coordinating mechanisms and harmonized strategies might be nurtured.

Students at Open University of Tanzania accessing computers to research study materials for their assignments at the main campus in Kinondoni district, Dar es Salaam region. Computers connected with internet have been more helpful for students at the campus who studies through distance learning basis.

This policy framework makes it possible for enabling sectors such as telecommunications, information, or broadcasting to work together whereby enabled sectors such as education, health, and good governance or agriculture can become more empowered through the appropriate development and application of ICTs. Notable progress was achieved in deploying ICTs notwithstanding the 1974 Prohibition Order on Electronic Computers and Television sets. The achievements were a result of various adjustments since the early 1990sd in policy, regulatory and commercial facets, both macro-economic and within ICTs converging sectors. The private sector has actively contributed to t6hese achievements by investing in among others, support facilities, training centers and sales outlets. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Tanzania had 820,000 internet users by September 2005, about 6.7 pe4rcent of the population. This number, of course will be higher to date. Significant improvements has been made in the area of telephones. Until the 1990s, there was only one telephone company in business, a nation-owned landline operator. In the mid of 1990s mobile phones operators began coming following te liberalization of the air waves industry According to figures published by the regulator, the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA), the number of Tanzanians with mobile phones reached 7.5 million by September 30, 2007 up from 6.7 million at the end of the previous quarter.
Mobile phone giant Vodacom led the way with 3,693 million customers ahead of the former Celtel (now known as Zain) with 2,251 million. Tigo (992,036) and Zantel (553,975). In the fixed line sector, the incumbent Tanzania Telecommunications Limited (TTCL) reported a drop in a number of main lines in service from 169,135 to 160,964 in the same period.

This is the headquarter building of the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA, known as Mawasiliano House meaning communication house, which is situated along Ali Hassan Road in Dar es Salaam.

According to information made available by TCRA, the ICT statistics shows that while the population of Tanzania is growing at the rate of 2.7 percent per annum, the number of Tanzanians subscribing to telephone line is currently rising by around 47 percent per year. Nonetheless, it notes there is still aw huge gap in terms of universal telecom access and that at least 80.6 percent of the population do not have a telephone line at all, either fixed or mobiles. A recent report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) Tanzania has been ranked in 11th position in Africa for Information and Communication Technology . Likewise, global information technology report of 2006-2007 networked readiness index had ranked Tanzania as in the 91st position worldwide. The WEF report cited such factors as hindering the ICT improvement and development in the sub-Saharan region as lack of extensive and efficient infrastructure, other reasons are cited as due to over-regulated business environment and low education standards. The government has deployed various approaches towards achieving this development. For example in 1995, established an independent regulatory commission by separating the operations of the Telecommunications market and the government sale of 30 percent of its stake to international and local consortia companies. In 1999, it started an e-think tank to bring together different Tanzanian stakeholders, including the government for the purpose of discussing ICT benefits and formulating National ICT strategies. An e-secretariat is in place to coordinate the activities of the e-think tank. Its mission s to offer ICT leadership by utilizing policy changes and supporting related developments aimed at enabling Tanzanians to participate effectively in the modern internet-based global economy. Until recently, Tanzania had been solely reliant on exporting itys agricultural products to other parts of Africa and Europe. A number of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are now offering internet trading to farmers and other businesses to sell their products around the world.