The Director-General of the National Communication Authority, Napoleon Adok Gai, opened the Internet Governance Forum 2023 on Tuesday in Juba with the aim of improving internet connectivity and access by establishing the SSD data centre.
Addressing the gathering, Mr Adok said the “proactive nature of the National Communication Authority is to foster transparency and public engagement regarding South Sudan’s ongoing connectivity and digital transformation.”
He said, “The key initiatives NCA has taken towards improving internet connectivity and access are the SSD establishment of a data centre and the operationalization of the Internet Exchange Point (IXP), which is accepting peering from other similar infrastructure in the region.”
“With all the technology we are to lay high-capacity fiber optic cables across the country, connecting Malakal and Renk and links to Sudan and connecting Juba to Wau, Rumbek, Aweil, and Torit, and managed to create redundancy and alternative routes,” Adok said.
According to Adok, all these initiatives are aimed at providing cheaper and faster broadband internet and connecting major cities to the broadband network.
In September, the government hatched a plan to install the metro network for government websites, said Adok.
Adok, who addressed the launch of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs website on Tuesday, said the move was to secure the country’s data.
“At the NCA, we are working to install a government metro network and make sure that this government website is hosted here in the country for data sovereignty,” Adok said.
“We have now put in place the necessary technology; the network is being built, and the network means that the ministry does not have to pay for the internet.”
According to Adok, the ministry will be connected to the government server at the central locations where accessibility is overseen.
He highlighted that the protection of the site is overseen by their cyber security experts, who are part of a body instituted with multiple agencies to ensure the government’s digital assets are protected.
Adok said the digital assets, including the registry of companies and the business, are some of the important documents that will be in the metro network.
He noted that many ministries have websites, but they do not have updates on them, a problem that needs to be addressed.
He said a website must be dynamic, adaptable to change, be updated, and efficiently serve as the source of information.
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