Introduction - Republic of Uganda

The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked English speaking country in East Africa, bordered by Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan and Tanzania, and c.800 miles from the Indian Ocean. Uganda has an area of 241,038 km² and 112 administrative districts. The population as at July 2018 was estimated at 40.853 million inhabitants with a literacy rate of 78.4% (CIA World Factbook). 50.2 percent of the population is between 15 and 64 years of age. Uganda's high population growth rates (3.3% per annum) has enabled a 15.1 million strong workforce. Kampala, the capital city, has a population of 2.986 million (2018, CIA World Factbook).

Uganda is a fertile country with regular rainfall and mineral deposits of copper, cobalt and gold. Oil has recently been discovered and the programme for its extraction is underway. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force, followed by services and industry. Uganda's US$27 billion economy is made up of the agriculture, industry and services sector with services (including ICT) making the highest GDP contribution of 42%, compared to 41% and 17% from the industry and agriculture sectors respectively (ICT sector Investment Profile 2016).

Uganda is striving to meet the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development objectives laid out in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Plan of Action as well as in Vision 2040 and the NDP II. According to Uganda Communications Commission in June 2018 there were 252,165 fixed line subscribers and 21.648 million mobile subscribers, with a teledensity of 56.1%. The number of mobile Internet subscribers dropped to 9.855 million while fixed internet subscriptions grew to 173,600 by June 2018. The estimated number of Internet users fell slightly to 18.5 million from the 19.1 estimated in the previous quarter. Internet penetration now stands at 47.4%.

In terms of ICT Infrastructure, there are three Submarine cables supplying Uganda: TEAMS, SEACOM and EASSy. The National Data Transmission Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) and Electronic Government Infrastructure (EGI) are being implemented by NITA-U as a public-private partnership project. Phases I and II of the NBI / EGI resulted in the laying of 1536.39Km of Optical Fibre Cable across the country to build the National Data Transmission Backbone and setting up of the NBI primary data centre and Metropolitan Area Network (MAN). The MAN network consists of the connectivity of 27 ministries and some departments through the laying of optical fibre cable onto the e-government network. Twenty-two district headquarters across the country were been connected and are benefiting directly from the project.

In terms of ICT Infrastructure, there are three Submarine cables supplying Uganda: TEAMS, SEACOM and EASSy. The National Data Transmission Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) and Electronic Government Infrastructure (EGI) are being implemented by NITA-U as a public-private partnership project. Phases I and II of the NBI / EGI resulted in the laying of 1536.39Km of Optical Fibre Cable across the country to build the National Data Transmission Backbone and setting up of the NBI primary data centre and Metropolitan Area Network (MAN). The MAN network consists of the connectivity of 27 ministries and some departments through the laying of optical fibre cable onto the e-government network. Twenty-two district headquarters across the country have been connected and are benefiting directly from the project. Following the NITA-U Act of 2009, the NBI/EGI was handed over to NITA-U in January 2010 to continue and complete the implementation of the respective phases. NITA-U undertook measures to rectify all the implementation challenges that were experienced in Phases I and II. It has now completed the implementation of three Phases of the NBI/EGI Project, and phase IV (extend ICT backbone to West Nile districts and borders points at Oraba with South Sudan, and Vurra and Mpondwe with DR Congo to facilitate regional connectivity and enhance redundancy of the National Backbone).

The Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF), which was established over 5 years ago, is the Universal Service Fund, which facilitates services to be provided as public private partnerships in rural areas. UCC subsidises these interventions, which has resulted in the establishment of Internet Points of presence, Internet cafes, multi-purposes community tele-centres, ICT laboratories in schools etc.

There are eight public Universities, 33 Private Universities, 40 public Tertiary Institutions and 51 private Tertiary Institutions in Uganda.

ICT Background

Uganda's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector is one of the most vibrant and fastest growing sectors since its liberalization in 2010, supported by a good ICT legal and regulatory framework. The ICT sector is regarded as a vital pillar for the social economic development of the country as indicated in the National Development Plan (NDP). The integration of ICT into the NDP has increased growth, income and employment through skilled and semi skilled job creation. ICT has contributed towards improvement of government service delivery through eHealth, eEducation, eGovernance, eCommerce and trade. The ICT sector is divided into three areas namely; Policy, Regulatory and Operational with the Ministry of ICT as the lead agency.

Uganda's telecommunications infrastructure is increasing at a 10 percent annual growth rate. MTN, Airtel, Uganda Telecom, Africell, Vodafone, Smile Telecom, Smart Telecom, Sure Telecom and K2 Telecom operate in urban and rural areas in Uganda. 4G networks have been installed around Kampala while 3G networks are available in secondary urban areas around Uganda. According to the 2016-17 Uganda National Household Survey, 68.6 per cent of households owned mobile phones, 61.8 percent in rural and 86.1 per cent in urban areas. All of the operators have deployed mobile-broadband networks, including the latest generation LTE by Smile in 2012, Africell and MTN in 2013, and Vodafone in 2015.The National Data Transmission Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) and the Optical Fibre Cable across the country is well developed, connecting major economic centres.

The Government of Uganda has recognised the critical importance of ICT in national development. It has initiated a policy framework to implement these technologies throughout the country. A number of policy and regulatory reforms have also been undertaken over the past decade to promote development of ICT infrastructure and increase access to affordable communications and IT services. The main policies that support Innovation in Uganda include:

- Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (2009) - Implemented through the National Science, Technology and Innovation Plan 2012/2013 - 2017/2018. Expected outputs include a Science and Technology Park and Incubation Centres.

- Information Communication Technology Policy (October 2003) reviewed in 2012 and approved in FY 2014/2015

- Rural Communications Development Policy implemented by Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) as Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF) / Universal Service Fund

- eGovernment Strategy, formulated in 2004 and approved by Cabinet in June 2011

- Telecom Sector Policy (1996) combined with the Uganda Communication Act 1997 (Laws of Uganda Cap 106) resulted in licenses being issued to telecommunications operators, an independent regulator and deregulation of the market

- National Broadcasting Policy

- Digital Migration Policy

The Government of Uganda has designed the National ICT Initiatives Support Programme (NIISP) to facilitate the creation of an ICT Innovation ecosystem and marketplace for Ugandan innovative digital products. NIISP primarily aims at facilitating growth and development of software applications and innovations industry. It will champion the creation of the ICT Innovation ecosystem to facilitate the growth and development of the software applications and innovations industry. It will focus on encouraging the creation of easy to consume and highly marketable digital products.

Uganda has received substantial support from donor agencies in the area of ICT for development. This has translated into a myriad of ICT projects being implemented in various sectors of Ugandan society, most notably in rural infrastructure, education, livelihoods and health. A wide range of Internet points of presence, Internet cafes, training centres, tele-centres, ICT Labs in Schools, Higher Education institutions and Health clinics have been implemented by the Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF)

A lot of milestones in terms of policies were achieved during FY 2014/2015 including approval of the National ICT Policy; ICT Strategic and Investment plan developed; Principles of Data Protection and Privacy Bill approved and draft Bill developed; technical support provided to UBC and UCC on analogue to digital migration; Principles for Digital Broadcasting Bill (amendment of Uganda Communications Act 2013) were drafted; first draft of National Broadcasting strategy developed and public awareness campaign on the Regulations for Cyber Laws (Electronic Transaction Act and Electronic Signatures Act) undertaken.