MOGADISHU, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Somalia government has opened network operations center (NOC), the first of its kind for the Horn of Africa nation to provide free internet for federal institutions.
Abdi Ashur Hassan, Minister for Posts, Telecom and Technology who officially opened the centre late on Saturday, said the service would help the ministry reclaim its role as technology services provider for government institutions.
"We acknowledge that Internet service we offer does not cover the needs of the federal institutions in terms of both the number of those covered and the bandwidth speeds each site is allocated for," Hassan said.
"However, we will work with our partners in expanding the service in the near future," he added.
Deputy Prime Minister, Mahdi Guled said the centre is aimed at providing free Internet services to 26 federal government agencies in different parts of the capital Mogadishu.
"Supported by the World Bank, the NOC provides secure and reliable connection to the Internet and a dedicated service, which will offer 24/7 support, monitoring, and troubleshooting for government entities," Guled said.
The inauguration comes after Somalia's both Houses have approved the National Communications Act to regulate the country's telecommunication sector.
The telecommunications bill calls for the creation of telecoms regulatory authority, development of the country with telecommunications technology, protecting corporate and consumer rights and more participation by private sectors in developing the sector.
The Minister of education Abdirahman Dahir Osman Dr Osman Guled, said the free Internet services are helping the ministries and other institutions to improve productivity, efficiency and effectiveness.
