Physical Infrastructure · National Grid

The Backbone of a Nation

Rwanda is landlocked and hundreds of miles from the ocean. To get high-speed internet, it had to run thousands of kilometers of physical glass cables across borders and over mountains.

View Network Data

3,000+ km

National Fiber Ring

3

International Subsea Gateways

98.5%

Population 4G Network Reach

NETWORK TOPOLOGY

Network Components

Terrestrial Fiber Infrastructure

3,000+ km National Backbone

A ring of glass cables running through all 30 administrative districts, piping high-speed bandwidth directly to regional hospitals, schools, and government offices.

30

Districts Covered

Global Connectivity Gateways

Undersea Cable Gateways

Because Rwanda has no coastline, terrestrial cables run across Tanzania and Kenya to plug directly into deep-sea fiber systems: SEACOM, TEAMS, and EASSy along the Indian Ocean floor.

3

Subsea Cable Systems

Domestic Peering

RINEX & RICTA

RINEX keeps local internet traffic routing domestically — like an inner-city bypass — avoiding expensive overseas satellite routing. RICTA manages .rw web domains with 50+ registrars.

50+

Accredited Registrars

East Africa Optical Routing & Domestic Peering

Terrestrial Fiber Grid & International Subsea Gateways

RINEX Core: ACTIVE · 19 Connected Peerschecked 03:111.9700°S, 30.1200°E

  • National Ring

    3,000+ km · 30 Districts

  • Cross-Border Transit

    Kenya & Tanzania corridors

  • 3 Subsea Gateways

    SEACOM · TEAMS · EASSy

  • RINEX Domestic IXP

    Local peering · NDC

Sources: PeeringDB · Submarine Cable Map · Packet Clearing House

v1.0.0 · 2026-09-14 · #rinex

Ring and corridor paths are illustrative: no public dataset publishes Rwanda's district fiber route.

MOBILE EVOLUTION

5G Deployment Timeline

Phase 12013–2022

The Shared Utility Model (WOAN / KTRN)

Wholesale Open Access Network — shared infrastructure leased to retail providers

  • Government partnered with Korea Telecom to build a single wholesale network
  • Like a shared municipal power grid — KTRN supplied 4G wholesale to MTN & Airtel
  • Coverage expanded rapidly from 5% (2014) to 98.5% (2018)
Phase 22023

Market Reform

Licensed invisible airwave frequencies that mobile towers use to broadcast wireless signals

  • Wholesale monopoly formally ended
  • MTN & Airtel granted direct radio spectrum licenses
  • Retail operators build and optimize their own cell towers
Phase 3June 2025

Commercial 5G Deployment

Fifth-generation wireless — ultra-fast, low-latency connectivity for enterprise and consumers

  • MTN Rwanda & Airtel Rwanda launched 5G services
  • Commercial coverage across major urban hubs
  • Operator duopoly driving next-gen speed and latency

NEXT CHAPTER

See the human impact
of this infrastructure.

Explore digital public services, educational technology, and socio-economic inclusion.

Next: Socio-Economic Metrics