– ICT, the core of Tanzania's social and economic growth

– Promising in the field of security solutions due to active infrastructure construction and digital economy transition

As interest in the promotion of e-government projects and various information security fields increased along with the declaration of the 4th industrial revolution by the Tanzanian government, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Tanzania on June 6 jointly with the Korea Internet & Security Agency and the Daressalam Trade Center held the 'Korea-Tanzania ICT Partnership Seminar' was held. At the event, presentations were made on ICT-related digital policies and projects in Tanzania and future plans, as well as on Korea's information protection technology and development direction. Seminars were held both online and offline.

<Seminar Overview>

Investment Opportunities in the ICT Sector in Tanzania

<Announcement by the Information and Communication Technology Commission (ICTC) of Tanzania>

[Source: Information and Communication Technology Commission (ICTC) of Tanzania]

First, the Information and Communication Technology Commission (ICTC) of Tanzania introduced Tanzania's ICT policies and related institutions, as well as opportunities for ICT investment in Tanzania. Tanzania sees ICT as the core of social and economic growth and is promoting various digital economy initiatives by establishing various policies. Representative ICT policies of Tanzania include National Telecommunication (1997), National Postal Policy (2003), and National ICT Policy (2016). With the establishment of National Telecommunication in 1997, the monopoly of existing companies was eliminated and other companies were able to enter the telecommunication market. It became the basis of commerce. In addition, the national ICT policy was established in 2003 to promote the establishment of ICT infrastructure and development of related fields.

According to the Global Connectivity Index 2020 report, the penetration rate of smartphones in Tanzania is about 5,400-21% of all mobile subscribers (about 30 million). In addition, Tanzania's telecom service subscriptions and teledensity in 2020 reached 89%. Meanwhile, as 66% of Tanzania's population use 3G services and the network coverage of 2G reaches about 93%, he introduced that there are investment opportunities in the field of 4G and 5G technology transition in the future.

Especially in Tanzania's telecommunications sector, innovative areas are mainly found in mobile payment systems, where apps like M-Pesa and other solutions are available in most parts of Tanzania. ICTC Chairman Mwasaga said that 65% of Tanzania's population live in rural areas rather than urban areas.

E-commerce in Tanzania is still in its infancy, and if you look at the value chain, there are many areas in which new technologies or companies can invest. Tanzania has many shortcomings in the delivery sector, so companies using logistics and technology solutions in e-commerce or drones are promising. The Tanzanian government started creating e-Government agencies for digital transformation, establishing a national network to connect all regions of Tanzania, and since 2003, an undersea cable network. Three subsea cable networks have been built so far, and more cables are planned to be installed in the future. In addition, the government is making policy efforts to strengthen telecommunication services. In 3, the Universal Telecommunication Access Act was enacted and the Universal Telecommunication Service Access Fund was established to invest in expanding services to areas in the communication blind spot. With the start of the e-government construction project, the demand for various cybersecurity technologies is also increasing, and there are also opportunities to advance into the e-service and content development fields.

[Source: Information and Communication Technology Commission (ICTC) of Tanzania]

Korea's information security technology and its social impact

<Announcement by Deloitte Korea>

[Source: Deloitte Korea]

Following the ICTC announcement, Deloitte Korea explained the public key infrastructure (PKI) and briefly introduced Korea's digital signature and authentication services. In the case of e-commerce by introducing PKI, it is possible to conduct a transaction safely without exposing personal information or transaction information to the outside by signing an electronic signature for e-commerce and then presenting it to the other party after being authenticated by an accredited certification authority. PKI technology is a technology that generates and authenticates a digital signature with a key pair based on a public key infrastructure. A key pair consists of a private key that creates a digital signature and a public key that anyone can verify. Therefore, in order to safely use digital signatures, it is important to find a trusted independent third party and the third party safely delivers the key pair to the end user. Here, the third party is a certification authority (CA). Certification bodies can be classified into several types according to the purpose of the certification policy. First, government certification bodies issue electronic certificates to government agencies and employees and use them for government electronic complaint (G3C) and electronic procurement (G3B) services. . A commercial CA is the owner of a CA domain and provides subscribers with a variety of authentication services such as SSL, document signing, code signing email protection, and more. In addition, national-level licenses and evaluations are designed and managed by government ministries or institutions, and in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, the institution grants accreditation or licenses to certifying body service providers who have been verified by the government. The previous three certification authorities provide public certification services, and lastly, private certification authorities are issued only to limited domain users for specific purposes, and issued electronic certificates cannot be used for other services.

[Source: Deloitte Korea presentation]

Korea has been using the national PKI system since 20 years ago, and there were only 10 accredited certification authorities in Korea over the past 5 years. With this monopoly, accredited certification authorities were guaranteed fixed benefits, but there was a drawback that they could not actively respond to the new demands of consumers according to the mobile environment. With the revision of the Electronic Signature Act in December 2020, new certification authorities that passed the evaluation of third-party judges appeared. As of June 3, there are a total of 2022 authorized certification bodies, including telecommunication companies, mobile messenger companies and banks.

Meanwhile, in 2017, in Korea, electronic certificates were used for electronic transactions and tax payments through internet banking or mobile banking, as well as issuing various certificates through the government civil service portal website, strengthening the security of the Korean e-government. In addition, Deloitte Korea explained the development stage of the national PKI system and emphasized the importance of establishing the national PKI system to secure the reliability of electronic transactions that occur in government, finance and commerce.

NIDA project status and economic effect

<Announcement by the Tanzania Resident Registration Office>

[Source: Tanzania Resident Registration Authority (NIDA)]

Next, the Tanzanian Resident Registration Office presented the status of the Tanzanian Resident Registration (NIDA) project and its economic effects. The Tanzania Resident Registration Office was established to solve the difficulties of verifying resident information and provides services for resident identification and registration and issuance of resident registration cards. And national ID cards are divided into three categories: Tanzanian citizens, legal residents and refugees. In particular, one of the main functions of the Resident Registration Office is to share resident registration information, which is integrated with various public institutions to share registration information and to strengthen KYC.

The resident registration system is computerized and stored in a central database system, and private and government organizations can verify and identify their identity through smart cards or online platforms. In addition, to strengthen the online identity verification (eKYC) of resident registration, it is possible to open an account immediately by integrating with several banks, and it is also integrated with a mobile communication company to strengthen identity authentication when registering a SIM card.

Edson Guyai, director of the Resident Registration Office, mentioned that Tanzania's resident registration project was supported by Korea's EDCF funds and was able to achieve various results while carrying out the first resident registration project. The project built a data center and disaster recovery center, built 1 regional registration offices, and built a secure automatic fingerprint recognition system. The project started in 13 and was completed in 2015. As a major achievement of the first project, the security of the resident registration network was strengthened through the introduction of a security infrastructure.

The Tanzanian government is currently preparing for the second project, and the scope of the project is to establish an ICT operation center (IOC), establish an ICT service center (ISC), and establish 2 regional registration offices throughout Tanzania. It also includes the introduction of the National Resident Registration Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) in 31 regions. The result of the secondary project is to ensure sufficient security services by using VPN for data sharing, cyber monitoring and evaluation. It also includes enhancing national convenience, strengthening the e-government service base, and enhancing administrative transparency and efficiency. It is expected that financial integration will be strengthened, access to government support services will be improved, and ultimately, trust in economic activities will be strengthened as the underprivileged will have legal documents to authenticate themselves through the resident registration system.

PKI/CA and implementation advice

<Announcement of Korea Information Certification (KICA)>

[Source: Korea Information Certification]

Korea Information Certification introduced PKI technology and how it is used to protect online transactions. He explained that online services such as e-procurement, e-taxation, e-tariff, e-finance, etc. can be protected by the national PKI system, and the PKI mandatory use policy is the most powerful way to promote the use of early PKI technology. In addition, PKI technology is a safer identification method than online identification using a user name and password. Electronic signatures can ensure the authentication of online transactions and non-repudiation of integrity, which is essential for realizing a paperless society and expanding online business. PKI technology is used for internet and mobile banking and online stock trading, and it is possible to conveniently file and pay taxes through systems such as Hometex. In addition, various certificates can be issued without visiting a government office through the electronic civil service service. As such, PKI technology provides cost and time savings for users, more online business opportunities for businesses, and the government can safely provide various services to the public.

[Source: Korea Information Certification Announcement]

Tanzania network establishment policy and business plan

[Source: TTCL]

Tanzania's state-run telecommunications company, TTCL, introduced Tanzania's broadband business. Tanzania started broadband network business in the early 2000s, and one of these is the National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) business. At present, a total of 8,315 km of broadband communication networks have been installed and connected to seven neighboring countries and also to existing submarine cables. In Tanzania, two submarine cables, SEACOM and EASSy, connect the north and the south, and these two cables were installed in 7 and 2008, respectively. In the past few years, the government's mandate for digital transformation and increased Internet use has led to a sharp increase in the demand for broadband networks.

This development project also aims to expand the transmission volume. Regarding the transmission volume of Tanzania's broadband network, the transmission volume has been increased by almost 4 to 5 times in various regions. The main network is 800 GB per second, some other networks are aiming for about 400 GB or 600 GB per second, and the smallest network is targeting 200 GB per second.

Note*: Red, pink and blue wires are newly installed cables.

[Source: TTCL presentation material]

Meanwhile, improving the availability of the network itself is one of the main business elements, and it aims to provide stable services to domestic and foreign users. Network resiliency and redundancy are also being improved in the current business, and DWDM/OTN networks are being developed technically, but technologies such as ASON are applied to prevent overlapping network flows. Cecil Komora Francis, Director of Technology Operations, emphasized that the Tanzanian government aims to achieve 2025% broadband network penetration by 80. In addition, future business plans were also mentioned. In addition to supplementing the already completed broadband network, metro fiber optic networks are installed in regions and district centers to directly connect to the existing national ICT broadband backbone network.

Meanwhile, the Tanzanian government announced through the Ministry of Information and Communication that the Tanzanian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) had issued a temporary license or spectrum to companies wishing to conduct a 5G pilot project. Therefore, it is expected that the fields mentioned above can become business opportunities in Tanzania.

African application of Korean ICT technology


[Source: KT]

Finally, KT had a brief introduction to the African application cases of Korean ICT technology. Since 2010, KT has experience in performing information and communication technology-related projects in 8 African countries, and its main projects include Gabon's Central African backbone network project, Angola's public safety project, Botswana's FTTx optical network construction project, and Mozambique's education project. There is this. He also mentioned that he expects to participate in the second project as it has successfully carried out the first electronic resident registration system and data center construction project in Tanzania.

implication

In this seminar, which lasted more than two hours, it was possible to learn about various matters including the policy and status of Tanzania's ICT sector and future development plans, as well as Korea's information security technology and development direction. ICTC Chairman Mwasaga said, “The Tanzanian government is striving to develop into a productive country through information and communication technology, and I want to learn about Korea's experience. Therefore, there are investment opportunities in infrastructure improvement projects in the ICT field, the digital economy field, and the digital governance field, and we expect a lot of participation from Korea.” said. In particular, as the ICT sector is expanding further along with the transition to the digital economy of Tanzania, it seems that Korean companies need to pay continuous attention. As introduced earlier, the Tanzanian government is expected to make steady investments in infrastructure due to its strong will to develop ICT in the field. In addition, as the demand for cybersecurity is expected to increase due to the continuous growth of mobile payment systems and the establishment of e-government platforms, the advancement into the security solution field is expected to be promising.

☞Source: KORTA Overseas Market News