SH380Bn: New MTN headquarters, countrywide optic cable

Glen Ssekabira, the deputy executive director in charge of supervision at Bank of Uganda (BoU), saluted the four banks for their strategy of a syndicated loan, saying it would help the commercial banks share the risks associated with lending large corporations in case of troubles in terms of loan repayment.

Unlike foreign loans, credit acquired locally has the advantage of not distabilising the foreign exchange market by weakening the local currency. BoU believes that the development was a strong indicator that Uganda’s banking sector now has the capacity to finance some large-scale infrastructure projects in the country, if they work together.

Several weeks ago, Airtel Uganda, MTN’s top rival, also proposed that it would invest Shs 163 billion in upgrading its 3G network as well as laying a fibre optic cable countrywide as it seeks to improve the quality of its internet service and also prepare for the unveiling of the super-fast 4G internet network.

Airtel executives said the firm has put its 3G network sites to new frequencies and installed 170 4G sites across the country to improve customer experience with the faster internet speeds. Similarly, Africell, too is laying fibre optic cables in different parts of the country in addition to its 4G network.

The telecoms move to invest in infrastructure is premised on the fact that internet users in Uganda are on the rise with the availability of cheap smart phone devices that go for a retail price as low as Shs 150, 000.

Latest data from Uganda Communications Commission shows that the number of internet users in the country stands at 13 million people and almost half of these (6.46 million) access it via mobile gadgets. In 2012, Uganda had only 4.9 million Internet users. However, voice still remains the main cash generator for most of the telecom firms even as data and mobile money are the fastest growing revenue streams.

For instance, out of MTN’S total revenue in 2015, data revenue, which grew at 17.4%, contributed 28.3% of its total earnings. MTN’s registered a 5% increase in total revenue to Shs 1.33 trillion in 2015 as a result of launching its 4G technology during the year and continued success of MTNMobile Money.

Out of the estimated 23 million phone subscribers in Uganda, MTN enjoys the largest market share with 8.9 million compared with its closest rival Airtel with 7.8 million, and the rest shared among Africell, Smart, Vodafone, and Uganda Telecom. The rising popularity of data is mainly driven by social media – Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and Youtube.