By Prince J Musa in Kenema
The Ministry of Information and Communication is on the verge of expanding the country’s fiber optic network to the Eastern region, Minister Mohamed Rahman Swarray has said.
The expansion is part of government’s broader priority to ensure digital inclusion as stated in its Medium Term National Development Plan, Sawaray added as he was addressing journalists in a press briefing in Kenema on Wenesday.
Kono, Kenema and Kailahun will all be connected to the fibre optic network as part of the country’s phase two expansion, he revealed.
“We are enhancing penetration so that people can take fiber at their residents easily, which will help reduce the cost for digital technological advancement that is done globally,” the minister stated.
“Kenema will have a metro-range around Kenema with access point that will enable people to use fiber at their homes. It will be high integrity accessible fiber and all schools that the fiber cables pass through are going to be connected, including the local councils and the hospital,” he added.
Koinadugu, Moyamba, Pujehun and Karene are among the districts that the expansion project will cover, according to the minister.
Board Chairman of the Sierra Leone Cable Limited, Sorie Fofana, said they are happy with the speed of work that is ongoing in some of the districts they have visited.
”We have visited Moyamba and we are satisfied with the quality of work in progress and are hoping the work will be replicated in other parts of the country. We appreciated that the implementation of phase two has commenced and hope the project will be completed in record time,” Fofana stated.
He added: “We are hoping that Chinese technology firm doing the job will ensure that Sierra Leoneans get value for money. The national fiber backbone phase two project is a national project.”
The project has not been officially launched yet, much of what is going on is site visit, ministry officials said.
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