What ‘fastest mobile operator’ tag means for Tigo and Tanzania’s digital drive

QUESTION: Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence ranked Tigo the fastest mobile operator among top providers in Tanzania in Q2 2023. What does this mean for the telco, and what have been some of the major investments and upgrades in this area?

ANSWER: Ookla measured us comparably to other mobile networks, and we were ranked number one in Tanzania. We believe that this performance will be maintained because we are not yet done with investing in this space. Once we complete the investment, we will cement our number one position. We are currently upgrading all our networks to 4G. By the end of Q1 2024, we will have completed the entire country. Apart from 4G, we are also upgrading 5G to all the main regional cities.

When you launched your 5G network in February of this year, you achieved the fastest download speed of 1 GBps in Dar es Salaam. What is your expansion plan for 5G across the country?

When we first launched 5G, it was available in Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Dodoma. We were the first mobile operator to claim a speed of more than 1 GBPS and the first to roll out 5G in Zanzibar. We have now expanded our coverage in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar and moved to Mwanza and Mbeya, and very soon we will be in Arusha. In 2024 and beyond, we aim to reach each regional capital city and town.

One of the key shifts expected in the 5G landscape is moving beyond traditional mobile broadband. What are your plans for going beyond consumer applications to the enterprise market?

When you look at 5G at the moment, especially in Tanzania, the consumer market is still very low. For example, only 2 percent of Tigo customers have handsets that are 5G capable. This means that we cannot depend on the consumer market to be able to sustain the investments we have put into 5G. The key area is now the enterprise market, called ‘connected offices’ and connected homes—fixed wireless access. Beyond that, we are also getting in touch with other players in the enterprise market in places like mining and ports. We are headed for an era where everything will be connected. 5G offers the technology and efficiency to enable all this.

How do you address the concerns that telcos might be moving too fast to 5G upgrades, yet some areas still don’t have reliable 3G and 4G?

For us as Tigo, we always want to be the first in transformation. If we all lay back, who will drive this change? Innovation is at the centre of our operations. We did the analysis, and we saw the 2 percent, but we said, let’s offer this service to our customers who can use 5G. 5G simplifies a lot of activities through automation. These are the kinds of things that show us where the world is moving. So we decided to take a step and are telling our customers to move with us. We tell them to purchase our fixed wireless access and our routers; this can help even MSMEs.

Tell us about the potential you see in Zanzibar now that the government is promoting Silicon Zanzibar and boosting the technology space.

We are keeping a keen eye on the developments in Zanzibar, and we also work closely with the Zanzibar government. We want to become a business enabler for the Zanzibar economy and its people. We are aware of Silicon Zanzibar and the technology university being established; that’s why we also offer a network that enables education and research.

We understand that there will be a lot of people coming to Zanzibar to do business and for tourism, and they all need reliable communication. Our 5G network offers a stable and good-quality network that promotes businesses and tourism.

Digital inclusion remains a priority for Tanzania. With a chunk of Tigo’s Sh1 trillion investment dedicated to digital inclusion, what's your vision, and what are the current numbers?

You are right; a big part of our investment is geared towards digital inclusion. From 4G to 5G and also innovation in our mobile money service, there’s going to be data everywhere, and our customers will get the best experience. We are unleashing the rural and urban economies by opening the world to our customers. All those who are marginalised now have an opportunity to stay connected and transact. All these efforts are part and parcel of digital inclusion.

With only 13 percent of rural residents having internet access, what plans are in place to improve network accessibility in remote areas?

We have reached 92 percent population coverage. But with the current investment, we are targeting hitting 96 percent of the population connected to our mobile network. The biggest gap will remain in rural areas. But we also have plans to continue bridging the network gap in the interior and to promote financial inclusion. We are in partnership with the government through the Universal Communications Service Access Fund (UCSAF). We were awarded 33 percent of a tender to expand communication in rural areas. For a single MNO to be given this share in a market with more than five players in the country shows our capability.

We plan to not only benefit urban areas but also open up rural Tanzania not only through mobile networks, but we have also launched a financial scheme that enables someone to loan a handset and make payments in instalments.

Affordability is said to be a key obstacle. How is Tigo keeping devices within reach of the average middle to low-income earner?

I’m in line with the view that affordability is indeed an obstacle. When I look at the profile of my customers at Tigo, 63 percent use 2G devices. So, imagine putting a network nationwide that is 45 capable. Only 30 percent have smartphones; the rest use feature phones. This is not a Tigo problem, but an industry problem. As Tigo, we are doing whatever we can to reduce the gap with initiatives such as handset financing. Still, we are also working with the government to ensure that we have phones manufactured in Tanzania. This situation needs to be looked at from an industry perspective.

What are some of the biggest obstacles in the telecom industry?

One of them is affordability; if this isn’t addressed, even the ROI will not be realized because you will make a massive investment but will not have customers who can afford your service.

The second issue is that, after we opened up a network with more speed, we are now getting complaints of bundles depleting faster. A speed of 1 GBPS means you are spending more data to access faster internet; this is different from 500 kbps. We are trying to educate our customers about these issues and how to limit usage and even speed.

Price is another issue; there is a price war in the market, which is a challenge. We are trying to work closely with the regulator on this. But our prices remain among the lowest in Africa.