Airtel races to switch on 5G network after largest telco MTN launches 5G
Uganda’s largest two telcos have launched 5G services in the country and unveiled their rollout plans.
Market leader MTN kicked off its launch last Friday – live-streaming on the platform formerly known as Twitter – saying it will roll out full 5G coverage in the capital Kampala by the end of 2024 and that over the next two years all its base station sites in major cities would also be converted to 5G.
The telco has initially rolled out the 5G network to Lugogo and Bugolobi areas of the city where more 5G-capable phones frequent. It also promised that more sites would be added soon.
CEO Sylvia Mulinge suggested 5G would “play a pivotal role in driving ICT solutions for economic growth”.
Airtel and MTN’s Ugandan subsidiaries secured 5G spectrum in a government auction earlier this month and the frequencies have now been released by the regulator, the Uganda Communication Commission. While MTN reportedly received 700MHz, 2.3GHz, 2.6GHz and E-band (71GHz-76GHz/81GHz-86GHz), Airtel secured 800MHz, 3.5GHz and some E-band spectrum.
GSMA Intelligence places MTN as Uganda’s largest operator by mobile connections, with 18.2m at end-Q2, slightly ahead of Airtel Uganda’s 13.7m.
Airtel, which was expected to launch 5G services in Kampala in August quickly announced that it had activated its 5G network over the weekend at Bulange, Mengo ahead of the 30th anniversary of King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II’s coronation this week. The telco said it was starting a pilot in the Buganda region.
Airtel has tested 5G at 11 sites in Kampala and its managing director Manoj Murali told the Nile Post that will deploy 5G across 50 sites this week, mainly in the capital. “We shall continue to update the country via social media with 5G covered areas in Kampala as we roll out this revolutionary service across the country,” he said. “We strongly believe that by the end of the year we will have covered many more sites especially in the cities.”
Growing subs despite currency glitches
Uganda is the fourth country Airtel has launched 5G with Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia being the others. And Airtel’s largest market Nigeria caused it some angst – the telco posted a loss in its first quarter of its fiscal year after a big currency devaluation in the country.
The Bharti Airtel subsidiary saw a net loss of $151 million – it had reported a profit of $178 million in the same quarter, last year.
“Despite the strong operating performance, our results have been impacted by foreign exchange headwinds,” said Airtel Africa CEO Olusegun Ogunsanya adding that the telco plans to keep investing in future growth – it left capex unchanged at $140 million.
Across its 14 sub-Saharan markets in Africa, the telco’s total customer base grew by 8.8% to 143.1m, as the penetration of mobile data and mobile money services continued to rise, driving a 22% increase in data customers to 56.8m and a 24.3% increase in mobile money customers to 34.3m.
The telco’s constant currency ARPU growth of 11.1% was largely driven by increased usage across voice, data and mobile money.
Picture (above) shows the MTN Uganda 5G launch featuring CEO Sylvia Mulinge.