With a spectrum deal that will strengthen its network in Tanzania, Airtel Africa, a company that offers mobile money and telecommunications services in 14 African nations, is re-establishing its position in the continent's market. It has been disclosed that Airtel Tanzania, a subsidiary in Tanzania, has paid a total of $60.1 million to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) for 140 MHz of extra spectrum spread between the 2600MHz (2 blocks of 2x15MHz) and 3500MHz bands.
More About Airtel Network Expansion
As per Airtel, the additional spectrum will assist network expansion in the market for mobile data and fixed wireless home broadband capability, including 5G rollout, and will offer a large amount of capacity to deal with the nation's ongoing rapid data development. It adds: “This investment reflects our continued confidence in the opportunity inherent in the Tanzanian market, supporting the local communities and economy through furthering digital inclusion and connectivity.”
With a 29.4% market share of mobile subscribers as of December 2021, Vodacom was the top mobile carrier in Tanzania, as per Statista. Tigo came in third, followed by Airtel in second. Vodacom had 15.91 million subscribers overall at the time, compared to Tigo's 13.37 million and Airtel's 14.7 million. The Market is dominated by these three major operators. Altogether, the other four operators have a lower market share than the top three operators. The total population of the country is considered to be 63.6 million people.
