Parliamentary committee satisfied with National Fiber Backbone Project progress

The Media, Information and Communication Committee has disclosed that it is impressed with the progress made on the implementation of the National Fiber Backbone Project.

Kawale: Impressed with the progress

Samuel Kawale, who chairs the committee, made these observations in Dowa when the committee toured some transmitting sites organized by the Malawi Digital Broadcast Network Limited (MBDNL).

Kawale, who is also member of Parliament for Dowa North East, said the project will enable people in Dowa and the surrounding areas to access cheaper internet connectivity and tune in to various television and radio stations.

“Our Committee plays an oversight role on Information Communication and Technology(ICT) related issues hence our visit here to see the progress on the Digital Satellite equipment installation as way of complementing and supplementing Standing Orders as laid down by the Malawi National Assembly,” he said.

And making their presentations, after the site visit, officials from the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, MDBNL and National Fiber Backbone Project, said the project was very important to the nation and expressed optimism that everything would become fully operational by December 31, 2018.

Chief Executive Officer for MDBNL, Denis Chirwa said the project which has seen the installation of a 2 Kilowatts and 72 meters Tower and Modular Transmitter with an estimated life span of over 30 years will have a signal which will cover areas such as Kasungu, Dedza, and Chikangawa, among others.

According to Chirwa, with this transmitter number 8 out of the 14 transmitters to be installed in Malawi, the whole country will have “KiliyeKiliye”, digital signal byDecember 31, 2018.

He said the transmitter which was procured at a cost of $270,000 and constructed by the Malawi Defense Force Engineers has a 30 Channel service capacity and will beam Malawi Channels for free.

He said at present, the country has 18 television channels but will also beam other international ones such as British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC), Fox and France.

In his presentation, Head of Optic Fiber Communication, Chester Kaponda said the project was important as it would ensure that government services are brought closer to people which would benefit ordinary Malawians.

Deputy Director for E- Government Prosper Mopiwa said there was progress on the National Fiber Backbone Project and hoped that all areas would access the services by December 31 this year.

The Media and ICT Committee of parliament had meetings with officials from the Ministry of ICT, E-Government, Malawi Digital Broadcasting and Escom.

The meeting, which took place in Dowa, was planned to see what these bodies are doing in development of ICT in Malawi.

The tour started by visiting Malawi Digital Broadcasting transmitters at the highest peak of Dowa mountain.

This is where they are transmitting TV signals to all districts in the central region.

The second stop was the Dowa council offices where MPs and the media saw how the fibre optic cables are connected at district councils.

ESCOM is connecting all districts, apart from Likoma, with these cables. This will tremendously reduce costs of operations in all government offices.

The citizens are the ones to benefit the most as efficiency in service delivery is expected to improve.

We ended the day with a long meeting in the council conference room where we interacted with our stakeholders on what we saw, as well as seeking clarity on what has been happening in the last months.

The project was implemented by Huawei Malawi whose country director Wan Wei expressed great satisfaction with the level of commitment and skill transfer acceptance exhibited by Malawi engineers.

Wei further indicated that Huawei will be available for support services when need arises bearing in mind the ever advancing technologies out there.

The project was implemented by Huawei Malawi whose country director Wan Wei expressed great satisfaction with the level of commitment and skill transfer acceptance exhibited by Malawi engineers.

Wei further indicated that Huawei will be available for support services when need arises bearing in mind the ever advancing technologies.

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Welensiki
Welensiki
5 years ago

This mopiwa guy is a fake! He claims to hold a UDSM Degree in Computers when he’s only qualification of being Deputy Director in government is his claims to have campaigned for Mutharika in the last elections. Where’s ACB mumufuze munthuyu he and many DPP cadets don’t hold the credentials they claim to have. He’s a fraud and DPP government employs him simply because hes a Southerner from Phalombe. Corruption ipose apa ngati? ACB is even refusing to investigate the report it has been given about this and many other DPP cadets in influential government positions. Wither my country aLomweh… Read more »

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