Internet – In brief

The Libyan government is to pump USD56 billion into the Ugandan fixed and broadband provider Uganda Telecom Ltd (UTL) in order to shore up its ailing business. Libya owns a 69% stake in UTL via the Libya Africa Portfolio Green Network (LAP GreenN), while the Ugandan government holds the remaining 31%. A report from local news portal New Vision quotes Libyan Foreign Affairs minister Mohamed Dayri as saying: ‘Since 2010, we have injected in USD72 million, but we are going to pump in an additional USD56 million in the next two months to be in a position to compete fairly.’ He added: ‘I admit a wide range of issues, such as good governance [and] lack of state of the art modern equipment like our competitors … are some of the issues affecting UTL operations.’ UTL has been struggling to keep pace with rival broadband operators such as MTN, Smile Communications and Vodafone/Afrimax.