A MAJOR internet provider, Habari Node Plc, plans to invest 1.5bn/- in construction of fiber-optic hardware infrastructure, a move that would see more improvements in internet connectivity in five regions.
The company announced that the investment plan for the next three years would benefit emerging commercial regions of Dodoma, Dar es Salaam, Iringa, Mbeya and Geita.
The ambitious investment is in a bid to expand its presence to support business growth.
The Habari Node’s Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Erik Rowberg, said the fiber-optic hardware infrastructure would be laid in to adequately support broadband competition, rural coverage, and wireless densification.
“Our plan is to invest 1.5bn/- in deployment of fiber infrastructure over the next three years, as we seek to spread our low-cost, but reliable internet to support business across the country,” Mr Rowberg said over the weekend during an inauguration of the new headquarters in Arusha.
In northern Tanzania, for instance, Habari Node Plc provides internet services not only to entrepreneurs within and on the fringes of central business districts, but also to Arusha, Tarangire, Manyara and Serengeti national parks, Karatu and Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
No wonder Arusha tops the number of internet-connected businesses in the country, as the new report shows the penetration rate of the safari capital has been phenomenal, thanks to the savvy business community.
The Building Bridges, a survey project implemented through Trias Tanzania, indicates that over 78 percent of business entities in Arusha are connected to the internet, as opposed to 59 per cent in other regions, including the country’s commercial city of Dar es Salaam.
Officiating at the office launch, the Arusha Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr John Mongella commended Habari Node Plc not only for fostering internet and Information Technology (IT) services in his territory, but also for creating decent employment for techno-savvy young generation.
“I am very grateful to Habari Node as its business model is inclusive. It offers reliable internet and IT services to our business and diplomatic communities here in Arusha and beyond. But more interestingly, the company pays back to the community through its unique corporate social responsibility,” RC Mongella said amid the applause.
Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO) CEO, Mr Sirili Akko praised the company for being at the forefront to better serve the tourism industry that by its very nature cannot thrive without the internet.
The Habari Node Plc General Manager, Ms Kabaza Runyeta, said her company offers internet, IP Bandwidth – on Fiber, Microwave links, IP VPN, and MPLS Circuits.
The firm also hosts web and cloud Services such as backup and restore, storage and virtualisation; and deals in software development; commercial off-the-shelf software for payroll, human resources management, and in custom software built and customised to the client’s needs.
Habari Node pays back to the community through its human-face corporate social responsibility, making it unique among its peers.
“We’ve offered internship and field positions to 1,450 local students pursuing IT studies since the company was established. These students have been professionally nurtured and we are proud that they have been good ambassadors elsewhere,” Ms Runyeta says.
The company also spends 40m/- per year on offering free or subsidized internet to schools based in Arusha and to Selian Hospice facility through a non-governmental organisation dubbed Arusha Node Marie.
