Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni asserts that internet infrastructure should be government-owned, not privately controlled, to ensure affordability for citizens. He believes private ownership leads to monopolies driven by profit, making connectivity unnecessarily expensive.

• Museveni argued that the state must maintain authority over core internet systems to guarantee affordable access.
• He linked his argument to the broader evolution of technology, drawing on his experience during Uganda’s liberation struggle.
• Museveni is seeking a record seventh term and is pursuing projects like laying fibre cables across Uganda.
• In 2024, he launched Phase V of the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI), adding 5,845 kilometers of fibre cables to the existing 4,387 kilometers.