Minister of ICT Michael Makuei. (Photo: Courtesy).

ADDIS ABABA, (Eye Radio) – The National Minister of Information Michael Makuei has announced a plan to extend new fiber-optic cables from Ethiopia and Sudan to South Sudan to boost internet access across the country.

Speaking at a panel discussion in Addis Ababa, on Tuesday, Makuei said the new route would become the connectivity cable alongside the existing links from Uganda and the impending line from Kenya.

He highlighted that having triple fiber cables will to turn the landlocked country into an internet hub and prevent a collapse of the information system.

“We are also planning to connect through Ethiopia here, and trying to connect through Sudan so that we can create a hub for South Sudan,” Makuei said, in remarks aired on state-owned television, SSBC.

“So far, we have connected two fiber optics from Uganda up to Juba only, and we are in the process of implementing another project through Kenya. It is in our plan to turn South Sudan into a hub, because being a landlocked country, you must have so many routes so that you avoid any collapse of a system at any time.”

Minister Makuei further pointed out that energy shortages remain a major barrier to development, especially in the telecommunications sector.

South Sudan’s internet service is said to be one of the most expensive in the region due to weak infrastructure and limited energy sources. Makuei pointed out that the country’s population is 70 percent young people and needs lots of services and opportunities to innovate online.

“At present, these 70 percent are not anything other than users or consumers of the technology, because we have not yet reached that stage of full innovation.”