The Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation (TTCL) has signed an agreement with Burundi Backbone Systems (BBS), a consortium of Burundian telecoms operators planning a national fibre-optic network, to provide broadband internet connectivity to the east African nation, Xinhua reported. The USD 6 million deal will be implemented over the next decade, said TTCL chief executive Waziri Kindamba, adding that it will also allow TTCL to broaden its business portfolio in both east Africa and the Southern African Development Community region (SADC).
Kindamba said the TTCL will provide first class broadband internet services in Burundi through stations in Kabanga and Manyovu in the border region of Kigoma. He added that as a result of the agreement, landlocked Burundi will now be connected across the world and that access to new internet services will "ease and improve business" between the neighbouring countries, both of which are members of the East African Community along with Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.