COUNTRY FOCUS : UGANDA
Smart phone penetration is still low with over 70 % of connected phones categorised as feature , basic phones . to ICT infrastructure . These issues cut across three stages of the broadband value chain as noted below :
The first focusing on the first mile shows that international connectivity to neighbouring countries is adequate . However , the study identified room for growth given the landlocked nature of the country and the opportunity to function as a hub for neighbouring countries on connectivity .
View of Parliment House , Kampala
Even though the country ’ s Internet penetration rate is at an average of 43 % due to limited infrastructure , the number of registered Internet users has steadily grown over the years to over 20 million . This shows that Internet usage in Uganda has gradually increased year after year .
On the Global Innovation Index , Uganda ranks at position 114 globally and is also ranked amongst the top 10 in the category of least developed countries . This is another positive indicator showing an increase in the development and consumption of ICT services in the country .
When it comes to network readiness , Uganda ranks 116th on the Networked Readiness Index . This Index consists of four pillars which include technology , people , governance and impact , growth and wellbeing in society and the economy . Uganda ’ s main strength in this index relates to governance . This index also ranks Uganda as 16th in Africa in the group of lowincome countries .
The overall findings indicate that Uganda scores highly on digital policy and regulation and lower across skills , innovation and inclusiveness as well as infrastructure . Hence , a Digital Transformation Roadmap has been identified to guide the implementation of national policies .
Connectivity shortcomings
The National Broadband Baseline Survey , 2022 identified gaps for improvement of the broadband value chain in Uganda . The key issues identified correlate with the performance of the country in the various indexes related
The second focusing on the middle mile shows a lot of limitations . The middle mile includes national backbone , data centres , Internet exchange points , content distribution networks which are important components for driving increased usage of Internet-based services and applications . As such , access to fibre nodes , where users can be connected is limited with only 29 % of the population living within 10km of such nodes .
The third focusing on the last mile shows significant challenges . Broadband adoption is low despite good broadband coverage and fast speeds . Whereas over time , the cost of data for end users and organisations has reduced , affordability was identified as a challenge . The survey reported that mobile broadband is cheap in absolute terms but not affordable in relative terms for the masses .
In addition , smart phone penetration is still low with over 70 % of connected phones categorised as feature , basic phones . Another aspect of last mile is the current limitations in the use of traditional postal addresses which creates challenges in delivery of physical goods and e-trade logistics .
Cybersecurity
Uganda has performed fairly and has been consistently rated in the top percentile of indexes on the continent and in the region . However , the cyber threat landscape keeps on evolving . In addition , the increase in use of digital services across both public and private sector increases the cyber risk and exposure of the country . Cybersecurity continues to be a challenge in Uganda and the share of cyber related , computer crimes in total economic crimes is on the rise .
It is based on this , that the current National Cybersecurity Strategy , 2022 adopted the whole-of nation principle where reduction of overall national cyber risk is a shared responsibility . In addition , Uganda has a robust legal and regulatory framework for data protection and privacy with an operationalised Personal Data Protection Office .
Source : International Trade Administration , United Nations Development Programme p
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