In a significant milestone for Uganda’s digital landscape, Bayobab Uganda, an MTN Group company, has unveiled its newest and shortest fibre optic route, the Uganda Railway National Long Distance (NLD), running from Malaba to Kampala.
This transformative infrastructure project reinforces MTN’s vision of delivering connectivity to all, expanding its fibre footprint across the region.
The new route supports over 1 terabyte (TB) of capacity and offers low-latency, high-redundancy connectivity to key data centres in Kampala. These include Raxio, Airtel House, and MTN Uganda, and enable improved and seamless interconnection options for service providers and hyperscalers.
The route is a powerful alternative to existing fibre systems, offering route diversity and significantly improved network reliability through low latency and increased resilience.
Ms. Juliet Nsubuga, the Managing Director, Bayobab Uganda, said during the launch of the fibre optic cable at a function in Kampala on Tuesday that Bayobab Uganda had heeded the call for technological transformation across the country, and that East Africa as a region is to benefit its communities with reliable and accessible connectivity to the internet.
“In collaboration with the Uganda Railway, we leveraged the existing rail network to deploy fibre, enhancing connectivity and providing high-speed internet access to communities along the line, connecting key routes between Kampala and Malaba at the Kenyan border and beyond,” Nsubuga said.
“This new route caters to the needs of international and national technology and digital players, as well as telecoms and ISPs that serve communities, demonstrating our commitment to connecting Africa,” she added.
Nsubuga noted that as part of a broader infrastructure strategy, the Bayobab fibre comes as a great addition to existing MTN fibre cables along the Busia–Jinja–Mabira–Kampala, Malaba–Kamuli–Kayunga–Jinja–Kampala, and Malaba–Tororo–Lira–Karuma–Masindi–Luweero–Kampala routes.
Critical Link in East Africa’s Digital Backbone
She revealed that the strategic route spans 260 km from Kampala to Tororo, extending to Malaba, forming a critical link between Uganda and Kenya.
This new route, according to Nsubuga, delivers reliable, high-capacity connectivity from Uganda’s capital to Bayobab’s subsea cable landing stations in Mombasa, completing East Africa’s digital backbone from Kampala to Mombasa.
Enhancing Digital Inclusion in Uganda
The unveiling of this new fibre optic route is a significant step towards enhancing digital inclusion in Uganda. With this infrastructure, communities along the route will have access to high-speed internet, enabling them to participate in the digital economy. The project also demonstrates Bayobab Uganda’s commitment to connecting Africa and promoting digital transformation across the continent.
Speaking at the same event, Sylvia Mulinge, the MTN Uganda Chief Executive Officer (CEO), stressed that the Kampala–Malaba Fibre Optic Route is a bold statement of MTN’s vision of ensuring that every Ugandan, wherever they live, experiences the benefits of a modern connected life.
Mulinge said, “Imagine a startup in Lira testing its mobile app on cloud platforms without delays. A farmer in Kayunga checking real-time weather patterns to guide planting decisions, or a remote school in Kisoro livestreaming science lessons from a national university. This is what a modern connected life looks like, and this is what we are enabling.”
Supporting Uganda’s National Agenda
The launch of this new route aligns perfectly with the government’s national agenda to digitise services, expand connectivity, and close the gap between urban and rural access.
According to Julianne Mweheire, Director Industry Affairs and Content Development at Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), “The new route adds to the existing fibre network, connecting Uganda to the Kenya border and should increase the already existing redundancy of connectivity access for Uganda as a whole.”
The unveiling of Bayobab Uganda’s new fibre optic route is a game-changer in Uganda’s digital journey because it will enable communities to access high-speed internet, participate in the digital economy, and benefit from a modern connected life.
As Bayobab continues to invest in Pan-African fibre infrastructure, the future of digital inclusion in Uganda looks bright.