Uganda has expanded its digital infrastructure fast, with about 96 percent of the population now within reach of broadband.
But more than 70 percent of citizens remain offline. This gap between coverage and real use, the ‘usage gap’, still limits opportunity in business, education, and health.
Angela Wamola, head of GSMA Africa, says Uganda’s 4G rollout is impressive.
Coverage has risen from roughly 50 percent a decade ago to fewer than 3 percent unserved today, but adoption trails far behind.
Thus, she says networks create little value if most people never go online, leaving farmers without market data, students without e-learning, and entrepreneurs unable to reach customers digitally.
Wamola attributes low uptake to affordability, weak digital skills, and limited local content.
Entry-level smartphones cost about $38-$39 (Shs132,000-Shs136,000), which can not be afforded by about 40 percent of households.
MTN chief executive officer Sylvia Mulinge agrees that device cost is at the heart of inclusion, even as network reach is near universal.
Thus, she says, MTN’s long-term ambition is to sell entry-level 4G phones for $20-$30 (about Shs70,000-Shs105,000), a range she believes could drive universal access.
Beyond this, Mulinge says, digital literacy is essential so users can apply technology in education, health, and small business, not just own devices.
UCC executive director George William Nyombi Thembo says Uganda’s digital agenda is shifting from building infrastructure to promoting meaningful use.
Mobile penetration has surged from fewer than 50,000 lines in 1998 to more than 40 million active subscribers today, including about 22 million internet users, yet participation remains uneven.
UCC, Nyombi Thembo says, is working with operators, the private sector, and partners to reduce barriers that keep low-income households offline.
He highlights that data prices have fallen by over 50 percent in five years because of competition and policy reforms, but affordability and skills must improve further.
Government programmes are supporting this push. The National ICT Backbone Infrastructure connects more than 700 government sites across 62 districts, and its next phase will emphasise digital-literacy campaigns and local-language content for rural communities.
ICT state minister Godfrey Kabyanga says government is committed to innovation-friendly policies under the Digital Transformation Roadmap and Vision 2040 by extending networks into remote areas that are commercially unattractive to providers.
He stresses that accessibility must come before affordability.
On emerging technologies, Kabyanga says Uganda welcomes Artificial Intelligence for better service delivery, but is cautious about ethical and security risks.
The National AI Task Force is drafting a regulatory framework to guide responsible use across sectors in the coming years.
As Uganda advances National Development Plan III and Digital Vision 2040, policymakers and industry leaders agree: coverage is no longer the barrier.
Closing the usage gap requires cheaper devices, continued data-cost reductions, reliable energy, stronger skills, more local content, and inclusive reforms so all Ugandans share in the digital economy.