Seacom’s arrival in Tanzania is expected to bring substantial changes to the country and it’s landlocked neighbours Zambia, Malawi and Burundi.

A $300-million fibre-optic network linking all major urban centres will be complete in June this year, and neighbouring countries will be able to access the broadband from across boarders.

"We are determined to become an ICT hub within the region," communications minister Peter Msolla told Reuters on the sidelines of an African Union summit in Ethiopia focused on the ICT sector.

"It will have a lot of impact in terms of easy access to communications and it will be a lot cheaper compared to the satellite which has been used so far. We believe it (costs) will come down by about 80 percent.”

The linking of urban areas will help improve the Tanzanian economy and have a profound impact on education. Msolla said the improved broadband would help Tanzania address a shortage of teachers by broadcasting lectures to schools across the country.