subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 76,288
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2019 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 9,658,548
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 77.53 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 47,685,232
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 81.29 (2019 est.)
Internet country code
.rw
.tz
Internet users
total: 2,653,197
percent of population: 21.77% (July 2018 est.)
total: 13,862,836
percent of population: 25% (July 2018 est.)
Telecommunication systems
general assessment:
telecom market impacted by energy shortages and instability in neighboring states; government investing in smart city infrastructure; growing economy and foreign aid from South Korea help launch telecom sector, despite widespread poverty; expansion of LTE services; competing operators roll out national fiber optic backbone through connection to submarine cables, ending expensive dependence on satellite; importer of broadcasting equipment from China (2021)
(2020)
domestic: the capital, Kigali, is connected to provincial centers by microwave radio relay, and recently by cellular telephone service; much of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone; fixed-line less than 1 per 100 and mobile-cellular telephone density has increased to 76 telephones per 100 persons (2019)
international: country code - 250; international connections employ microwave radio relay to neighboring countries and satellite communications to more distant countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) in Kigali (includes telex and telefax service); international submarine fiber-optic cables on the African east coast has brought international bandwidth and lessened the dependency on satellites
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments
general assessment: Tanzania's telecom services are marginal and operating below capacity; one fixed-line operator with competition in mobile networks; high tariffs on telecom; mobile use is growing with popularity of 3G/LTE services; government allocated funds in 2019 to improve rural telecom infrastructure and work on national fiber backbone network connecting population around country (2020) (2020)
domestic: fixed-line telephone network inadequate with less than 1 connection per 100 persons; mobile-cellular service, aided by multiple providers, is increasing rapidly and exceeds 82 telephones per 100 persons; trunk service provided by open-wire, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and fiber-optic cable; some links being made digital (2019)
international: country code - 255; landing points for the EASSy, SEACOM/Tata TGN-Eurasia, and SEAS fiber-optic submarine cable system linking East Africa with the Middle East; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean, 1 Atlantic Ocean) (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments
Broadband - fixed subscriptions
total: 8,885
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2018 est.)
total: 1,039,655
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1.77 (2019 est.)
Broadcast media
13 TV stations; 35 radio stations registered, including international broadcasters, government owns most popular TV and radio stations; regional satellite-based TV services available
a state-owned TV station and multiple privately owned TV stations; state-owned national radio station supplemented by more than 40 privately owned radio stations; transmissions of several international broadcasters are available (2019)
