Regulatory initiatives push Tanzania’s digital agenda

Key indicators in Tanzania’s communications sector show that the country has passed a critical milestone in its journey towards an economy mainstreaming Information and Communication Technology (ICT) networks in all industries - the digital economy.

The digital economy relies on key pillars founded on infrastructure that ensures high-speed and reliable connectivity and technologies that promote inclusion and accessibility. Others are good governance and an environment promoting digital transformation, including innovations that expand service access and penetration.

Digital literacy and skills development at all levels, safe and sound access and usage, a verifiable digital identification system, and secure and seamless electronic payment platforms also facilitate the digital economy.

TCRA and the digital economy

TCRA Director General Dr Jabiri Bakari says a well-integrated and active society can build an inclusive economy through reliable, affordable, universally accessible high-quality telecommunications, and internet systems.

TCRA coordinated a high-level national forum in March 2022 to promote a common understanding of the digital economy and activities around these pillars among the policymakers.

The Authority facilitates most of the critical pillars of the digital economy by ensuring its regulatory functions lead to strengthening communication infrastructure and access to communication services.

For example, TCRA designed and managed the 2018 and 2022 auctions of prime band spectrum to promote high-speed internet, including services accessed through advanced mobile technologies.

The latest communications sector status report released by TCRA shows positive indicators in most digital economy pillars.

High speed internet, mobile money 

The fifth-generation mobile communications technology (5G), which enables the delivery of high-speed internet services, covers 15 per cent of Tanzania's population. The technology, introduced to Tanzania in 2022, had covered two per cent of the country by June this year.

Mjini Magharibi region is the third in Tanzania in 5G base station node deployment, with 37. Dar es Salaam has 541, Dodoma 41, Arusha 27 and Mwanza 23.

Internet subscriptions increased by seven per cent, from 36.8 million by March 2024 to 39.3 million in June.  Average mobile broadband download and upload speeds improved from 11.4 and 11.1 to 12 megabytes per second between April and June. 

Digital financial services have taken root in Tanzania. TCRA has visibility into the number of SIM cards that are activated for mobile money services. The Bank of Tanzania, the country’s financial sector regulator, oversees the regulation of mobile money services.

Mobile money accounts have more than doubled in five years, growing from 22,957,515 in June 2019 to 55,710,758 in June 2024. These accounts processed 295,925,437 transactions in June 2024, compared to 260,439,103 in June 2019, reflecting a 13.6 per cent growth.

Biometric SIM card registration has given Tanzanians unique digital identities while enhancing consumer confidence in electronic transactions and services. Subscribers in the five mobile networks had registered 76,557,446 SIM cards by June 2024.

SIM card registration in most Zanzibar regions has improved following the deployment of more base stations. Mjini Magharibi leads in SIM card penetration. It had 484,857 SIM cards registered by June 2024. It is among the top 10 regions countrywide in SIM/population ratios.

Machine to machine communications

Some 969,440 were used for automated communication among machines without human intervention. This technology, also known as machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, enables objects, devices or things to use existing or evolving communication networks to automatically share data electronically and carry out actions with minimal or no human intervention.

Examples of M2M devices are smart electricity meters, which allow users to track energy consumption in real-time. 

The technology is also used in wearable items. These monitor a user’s physical activity, heart rate and other metrics and transfer data to devices such as smartphones and networked computers. TCRA statistics show that 7,721 wearable items were connected in Tanzania in June 2024.

Tariff drops

The statistics also show that data bundle tariffs decreased by 0.6 per cent between April and June 2024. Average tariffs for calls on subscribers' networks (on-net) and to other networks (off-net) converged in 2020 following gradual drops in preceding years.

The report attributes this to the drop in interconnection charges during the period – from 15.6 shillings in 2018 to 1.76 shillings in January 2024.

New broadcasting licenses

The June 2024 statistics also show that digital terrestrial television broadcasts (DTT) now cover 32 per cent of Tanzania and are accessed by 56 per cent of the population. Radio broadcasts on frequency modulation (FM) reach 49.94 of the country and cover 75.52 per cent of the population.

Satellite television reaches 100 per cent of the population and covers the whole country. In Tanzania, broadcasting content is delivered through radio, digital terrestrial television, satellite television, cable television and online media.

Tanzania was the first country in Eastern and Southern Africa to migrate to DTT from analogue broadcasting in December, ahead of the international deadline of June 2015. Digital television subscribers require decoders or set-top boxes to access the service.

The report shows that 3,840,923 decoders were in use in April 2024, of which 1,868,982 were for DTT broadcasting and 1,971,941 were for satellite broadcasting.

TCRA   issued 24 new licenses for different broadcasting content services between April and June 2024. They include eight district radios, nine national televisions by subscription, two online radios, two online content aggregators and three cable televisions.

Cumulatively, Tanzania now has 16 national free-to-air (FTA) televisions, 23 district FTA televisions, 14 national radios, 31 regional radios, and 177 district radios. Others are 15 community radios, 25 national subscription televisions, 1 district subscription television, 5 online content aggregators, 64 weblogs (blogs), 9 online radios, 215 online televisions, and 63 cable televisions.

The report shows that cable TV subscriptions increased by 19 per cent - from 15,781 in March 2024 to 18,820 in June 2024. Half the cable television subscribers are in Shinyanga, Tabora, Dodoma and Mwanza.

Postal, courier services providers

Meanwhile, TCRA has licensed 12 more courier companies, reflecting a move towards promoting parcel traffic.

The new licensees are six intercity transporters – mainly passenger buses, three intercity couriers, one East Africa operator and two international courier companies in the April-June quarter.