Note: K2 Telecom operates as a component of Airtel Uganda.[9]
Customer base
As of June 2017[update], there were an estimated 20.4 million mobile subscribers out of an estimated population of 39.6 million;[10] a 51.5 percent penetration rate.[11] By March 2018, the number of mobile phone users had increased to 24.8 million, a 70.9 percent penetration rate.[12] As of June 2020, the number of mobile telephone customers were estimated at 25.5 million, as reported by the Daily Monitor newspaper.[13] That figure had increased to 26.5 million at the end of September 2020.[14]
As of 31 March 2017, Uganda had the 18th highest Internet usage rate in Africa (out of 58 countries). The country had 13,023,114 Internet users out of a population of 41,652,938, bringing the Internet penetration rate to 31.3 percent.[15] As of September 2020, Uganda recorded 20.1 million Internet users,[14] out of an estimated mid-year population of 41.58 million,[16] bringing internet penetration to 48.3 percent, nationwide.[14]
As of 31 March 2022, according to the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), there were a total of 30.6 million active telephone lines in the country. The mid-year national population was estimated 44.2 million people. This calculates at 69 active
lines per 100 Ugandans or 80 percent for Ugandans aged 15 and
above.[17]
Market share
The table below illustrates the market share of each of the major mobile network operators in the country, as of December 2021.[3]
Market share among mobile network operators in Uganda
When Africell exited Uganda, after 7 October 2021, a total of 3.3 million mobile subscribers in Uganda were up for grabs between the remaining four mobile network operators in the country.[18][19]
