A community-driven internet broadband initiative is working to bridge Zimbabwe’s rural internet gap, a development that has reportedly brought early success in education and healthcare delivery.
Speaking in an interview with CITE during the United States Embassy-hosted Innovators Forum, Mytel founder and chief executive officer Thulani Mthunzi said the project is focused on extending affordable internet access to underserved communities.
Mytel is a community broadband initiative, is targeting areas where connectivity remains limited or unavailable.
“We seek to bridge the internet connectivity divide, bringing such services to the people in rural areas,” Mthunzi said.
“So far we are in Umzingwane, where we cover a number of areas, and we are hoping to have wider coverage as we build more relations with partners.”
Mthunzi explained that the organisation identifies strategic locations to install infrastructure capable of covering wide geographic areas.
“Our main focus is to bring connectivity to rural communities where there is limited access to internet or is completely nonexistent. We identify strategic areas where we can set up our equipment so that it can cover wide areas,” he said.
To ensure affordability, Mthunzi said their service is currently priced at US$0.50 per day, with the first 30 minutes offered free of charge.
“With time, we hope to provide this service free of charge to all rural communities,” he said.
Mthunzi said the initiative is already yielding measurable benefits, particularly in the education and health sectors.
“Our services are helping schools, where learners now have access to the internet. This has been quite helpful, and they are recording improved results, with better pass rates than before,” Mthunzi said.
“We have also brought connectivity to local clinics, where health professionals can now conduct research easily and communicate with other institutions when necessary. They have highlighted significant improvements in service delivery.”