The initiative aims to transform connectivity, improve service quality, and expand digital inclusion in both urban centres and underserved rural areas
Dar es Salaam. Vodacom Tanzania has unveiled more than $100 million technology modernisation programmes as part of its Vision 2030 strategy, marking one of the largest infrastructure investments in the company’s 25-year history.
The initiative aims to transform connectivity, improve service quality, and expand digital inclusion in both urban centres and underserved rural areas, supporting Tanzania’s socio-economic growth over the next quarter-century.
The investment will see thousands of network sites upgraded across the country and significant enhancements to Vodacom’s IT infrastructure, including its M-Pesa platform, the company said in a statement.
The upgrades are expected to deliver faster data speeds, improved call quality, more reliable M-Pesa services, and enhanced cybersecurity to meet the needs of Vodacom’s growing user base.
“Our journey to Vision 2030 has officially begun,” said Vodacom Tanzania managing director Philip Besiimire.
“With this investment, we are laying the groundwork for the next five years and beyond, empowering people through better access, protecting the planet through greener technologies, and maintaining the trust of our customers, partners, and investors,” he said.
“To date, over 1,000 network sites have already been upgraded across the Lake Zone, Southern Highlands, and parts of central Tanzania,” he added. The modernisation programme is aligned with Tanzania’s national digital transformation agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, he said.
In line with its Net Zero 2035 ambition, the upgrades will introduce energy-efficient infrastructure that reduces power consumption by up to 30 percent while improving network performance and coverage.
“This upgrade involves the latest technology and will significantly expand 4G coverage, ensuring faster internet speeds and improved connectivity wherever Vodacom is available,” said Vodacom network director Andrew Lupembe.
“We are going greener with Huawei’s industry-leading ‘zero-bit-zero-watt’ technology, which dramatically improves power efficiency while reducing carbon emissions, while at the same time enhancing performance for both 4G and 5G.
We are also optimising tower space by introducing multi-band radio technology that accommodates all spectrums in one radio and combines multiple frequency bands in the same antennas,” he noted.
As Tanzania’s digital economy continues to grow, Vodacom said it remains committed to being an enabler by accelerating digital and financial inclusion, catalysing innovation, and investing in infrastructure that connects every Tanzanian to opportunity.
