Uganda National Broadband Baseline Survey and Infrastructure Blueprint

The main objective of this study was to establish a national broadband baseline and subsequently develop a 10-year National Broadband Infrastructure Blueprint (2022/23 – 2032/33). This study, commissioned by the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance (MoICT&NG), was funded through the World Bank’s Regional Communications
Infrastructure Program (RCIP).

Under the third National Development Plan (2020/21–2024/25) (NDPIII), Uganda has adopted a quasi-market approach in which the ‘government needs to increase efficiency and planned participation in the economy in order to direct development. The National Broadband Infrastructure Blueprint will provide MoICT& NG and its agencies as well as private and public sector stakeholders with a consistent and known framework for the policy, regulation, planning, deployment, and management of broadband infrastructure, including its spectrum.

A clear and consistent framework will be a major step in actualizing the aspirations of the Digital Uganda Vision (2021), which include improved global competitiveness and attracting investments to enable universal access to broadband.

The study was framed in terms of the broadband value chain, enabling a more granular examination of what is at play at each value chain stage. This value chain splits the distinctive segments that include content rights, online services, enabling technologies, connectivity, user interface, and demand for broadband.

This approach makes it easier to link gaps and strengthen weak links in the value chain to the broadband ecosystem so that better policies, institutional arrangements, laws, and regulations can be designed. Using a consistent value chain approach also means that Uganda’s current status can be benchmarked against other countries.

Countries that employ best practices in parts of the value chain and ecosystem become points of reference as Uganda looks to refine its approach to broadband. Examples of such countries within Africa include Mauritius, South
Africa and Ghana and, outside Africa, Korea, New Zealand, and Australia, while many more advanced countries also provide suitable lessons.

Below is the full survey report in PDF that you can download and read for more information.