Other assets that are to be managed by the private sector include a national data center and the Kigali Wireless Broadband (WiBro) network in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. The WiBro network, which was deployed by Korea Telecom, offers data connectivity and VoIP services.
According to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of ICT (MINICT), David Kanamugire, the government has invested over $100 million in these assets.
Kanamugire confirmed in an interview that the process of hiring the firm that will manage the facilities is under way. He however could not give a time frame for when the process will be completed.
"These are complex processes that require careful planning to ensure we get the best man for the job," Kanamugire said.
He said transferring government assets to a private operator would ease access to these facilities by the general Rwandan public.
Currently, some telecom operators are using the government fiber-optic cable to deliver Internet services.
The private telcos have lease agreements in place with the government to use bandwidth. Kanamugire said the cost of leasing the cable is based on the cost of running it rather than on a profit basis. He said the government invested in fiber-optic cables to reach remote areas that private players still consider not viable.
At the time the government of Rwanda chose to invest in these projects, private players questioned the reasoning behind the move, saying the government was entering the telecom market to compete with them.
Kanamugire has assured the private players that the government "had no intention to compete with the private sector but it wants to promote universal access to ICT."
MTN Rwanda Chief Operating Officer (COO) Andrew Rugege welcomed the move to put infrastructure in private hands but called for fairness in the process. Players like MTN Rwanda are expected to apply to government to run the facilities.
"We hope it will be done in a fair way not to give advantage to whoever will win the bid to manage them," Rugege said.
Work on the 2,300 kilometer fiber optic cable, which cost some $93 million, was completed in January. The work included fiber installations on the Ugandan and Tanzanian borders where fiber runs to the East African coast and links to submarine cables.
The installation of equipment in government institutions that are directly connected to the optic fiber is ongoing and the entire network will be fully operational and commissioned by soon. The network cable is also expected to enhance the ICT industry by facilitating IT-based foreign investment in areas such as business process outsourcing.
The national data center, which will store all national data, was set up by a Swedish firm, Coromatic, at a cost of more than $5 million. The facility has the capacity to store and back-up data for neighboring countries that are interested.