Fibre to 100,000 homes, public institutions on the national backbone and new towers for Unguja and Pemba. Better lines are coming. Is the network inside your building ready?
What was announced
President Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi opened the Tech and AI Expo Africa Innovate 2026 at the Golden Tulip Hotel near the airport. He said Zanzibar aims to connect about 100,000 households to reliable internet through fibre-to-the-home within three years, while strengthening submarine cable links and developing data storage and processing facilities.
In the 2026/27 budget speech, Minister Mudrik Ramadhan Soraga presented a TZS 53.39 billion allocation for digital transformation. The ministry reported 153 of 211 public institutions connected to the national fibre network by March 2026, and 27 new communication towers approved for underserved areas of Unguja and Pemba.
Why the inside network decides
A faster line only helps if the network inside the building can carry it. The usual bottlenecks are:
- One router for a whole building.
- Wi-Fi through thick coral-stone walls.
- Unmanaged switches and tangled cabling.
- Staff, guests and CCTV on one flat network.
- No backup link when the main line is down.
Read why your Wi-Fi is slow in our Knowledge Center, and our guide to fibre in Zanzibar.
A checklist before the fibre arrives
- Survey Wi-Fi coverage room by room.
- Plan cable routes and a small rack or wall cabinet.
- Use managed switches so staff, guests, servers and cameras are separated.
- Protect equipment with a UPS and surge protection.
- Agree a second internet link from another provider.
- Keep a simple network map and the admin passwords somewhere safe.
Check your site with our network readiness check and plan power for access points and cameras with the PoE budget calculator.
Data, hosting and backups
As data facilities grow locally, decide where your systems and backups should live. Read cloud vs local hosting and keep at least one backup copy off site.
How Extrion can help
Extrion designs, installs and supports networks for homes, hotels, offices and schools across Zanzibar. See our network infrastructure service, browse networking equipment, or request a site visit.
Frequently asked questions
How many homes will get fibre in Zanzibar?
About 100,000 households within three years, according to President Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi at the Tech and AI Expo 2026.
How many public institutions are on the national fibre network?
The ministry reported 153 of 211 public institutions (72.5%) connected by March 2026.
Will fibre fix slow Wi-Fi?
Not on its own. Slow Wi-Fi is usually caused inside the building: router placement, walls, too few access points or an overloaded network.
Still stuck, or want more detail?
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