Telecom sector turnover hits $810m
Jul 24, 2006
The telecom sector has registered growth in turnover worth $810m (sh1.5 trillion) since January 2004 todate, a report released by the information and communication technology (ICT) ministry has said.
By David Muwanga
The telecom sector has registered growth in turnover worth $810m (sh1.5 trillion) since January 2004 todate, a report released by the information and communication technology (ICT) ministry has said.
“Private investment in the sector since January 2004 todate is estimated to be $180m (sh334.8b). The sector is growing with registered turnover of $810m,†the report issued by the ICT minister, Dr. Ham Mulira, said.
“Tele-density has improved from 4.2% in 2004 to 6.5% in 2006. The number of fixed lines has reached 107,992 and 1,937,109 for mobile phone users. There is a point of presence of telecom services in 745 of the 926 sub-counties,†Mulira said.
The report was released at a stakeholders workshop on the new licensing guidelines at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala recently.
He said over 10,000 public pay phones had been installed and the Internet market although still small, had developed.
Five courier service providers have been issued licences since 2002, bringing the total to 22.
By March last year, MTN Uganda had its network in 628 out of the 926 sub-counties, an equivalent of 68% network presence.
“Since January 2005, Celtel increased the network presence from 170 major towns to 170 and the current mobile switching capacity is close to 500,000 subscribers,†Mulira said.
He said uganda telecom’s GSM network has increased to 338 sub-counties with a mobile switching capacity of 300,000 subscribers while in terms of fixed lines, least 123 sub- counties are covered.
Ends
The telecom sector has registered growth in turnover worth $810m (sh1.5 trillion) since January 2004 todate, a report released by the information and communication technology (ICT) ministry has said.
“Private investment in the sector since January 2004 todate is estimated to be $180m (sh334.8b). The sector is growing with registered turnover of $810m,†the report issued by the ICT minister, Dr. Ham Mulira, said.
“Tele-density has improved from 4.2% in 2004 to 6.5% in 2006. The number of fixed lines has reached 107,992 and 1,937,109 for mobile phone users. There is a point of presence of telecom services in 745 of the 926 sub-counties,†Mulira said.
The report was released at a stakeholders workshop on the new licensing guidelines at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala recently.
He said over 10,000 public pay phones had been installed and the Internet market although still small, had developed.
Five courier service providers have been issued licences since 2002, bringing the total to 22.
By March last year, MTN Uganda had its network in 628 out of the 926 sub-counties, an equivalent of 68% network presence.
“Since January 2005, Celtel increased the network presence from 170 major towns to 170 and the current mobile switching capacity is close to 500,000 subscribers,†Mulira said.
He said uganda telecom’s GSM network has increased to 338 sub-counties with a mobile switching capacity of 300,000 subscribers while in terms of fixed lines, least 123 sub- counties are covered.
Ends