Telecoms are increasingly being judged by the quality of experience rather than pricing. What will be your company’s key investment priorities next year to improve customer experience?
In our category, the most important thing is the product. For a telecom company, the product is not the price or what we sell – not those bags – the product is the network, the experience part, what we provide to our customers. That is what matters most.
So, I would like to tell our customers that next year, we shall invest a lot in terms of product. There will be three main aspects we shall focus on.
The first part, which is very common, is coverage – how much we cover. There are many small villages where we shall expand our coverage. We shall go to some places for the first time, where currently no telecom operator is available.
In terms of investment figures, I can’t give an exact number because next year’s plan is still being finalised. But to give an idea, we had 200 5G sites and are expanding by another 200 this year. Next year, we expect to add another 300 to 400 5G sites.
For overall coverage, by December this year, we shall have about 300 to 350 new sites – the highest investment in the last five to six years. Next year, that number will be higher.
Most of these investments will be in rural areas across the country – not just in Kampala, Jinja, or other core markets, but also in places like Mbale, Gulu, Kabale, Fort portal, and Arua.
The second thing is that the network is like a road. If it is good today, tomorrow it might not remain good. For instance, you may have a tower radiating a network to a particular place, and suddenly a building comes up or a tree grows in front of it, blocking that sector.
We need to continuously assess and enhance quality, optimise the network, and if required, put up more towers.
The third area is cybersecurity. As smartphone penetration increases, we also need to be careful about cybercrime and fraud, which also affects 2G phones.
That is why we are bringing new technology, like our already launched anti-spam SMS feature. When a spammer sends an SMS, we detect it and alert the customer about the suspected spam.
Next year, we shll invest further to introduce technology that identifies spam calls as well.
What is the current coverage level of Airtel Uganda, and where is expansion focused?
We currently cover about 94-95 percent of Uganda’s population and roughly 85 percemt of the landmass.
Our goal is to reach 90 percent geographical coverage. But we focus mainly on areas where people live – not vast uninhabited spaces like national parks. Even then, we are expanding gradually to remote areas as demand increases.
Uganda is still catching up in smartphone penetration, yet data usage keeps rising. How does the pace of smartphone adoption influence your data business and the future of data pricing?
Currently, data contributes to almost 50 percent of our business, and it is growing exponentially – about 25 to 30 percent year on year. That is where we shall invest the most – on the internet side – because data will soon contribute 60 to 70 percent of our business. So, our investment will be mostly on data.
As data consumption grows, prices will gradually drop. But all investments are now happening on the data side, as voice services are declining. Uganda is a young country with a median age of 16 – meaning most users are Gen Z and Gen Alpha who prefer using the Internet to talking.
As smartphone penetration increases and more people get online, data prices will coming down naturally.
But for that to happen, smartphone adoption must grow fast – otherwise, the business case for such heavy investment won’t hold. As smartphone usage and data consumption rise, data will become cheaper for everyone.
As smartphone penetration deepens, so do concerns around cybercrime and mobile fraud. How is your company addressing cybersecurity risks for your customers?
Regarding mobile money security, whenever a SIM swap happens, we have introduced a 48-hour cooling period during which no mobile money transaction can be done.
We have also built an API system that alerts banks when a SIM swap occurs, so they can monitor for possible fraud. Most banks have already upgraded their systems, and we are working with the rest to integrate this as well.
We also launched Africa’s first anti-spam network, starting with SMS, and early next year, we shall roll it out for calls.
Whenever a suspected spam call comes through, customers will be notified so they can avoid sharing personal information.
Many users complain that their data runs out too fast. From your perspective, what causes this – and should Ugandans expect data prices to reduce as usage grows?
On the issue of data depletion, I would say it is a myth. Most customers are unaware of their phone configuration. To explain simply – think of the Entebbe Expressway and the old Entebbe Road. The old road has more cars, while the Expressway, which charges toll, has fewer cars and allows faster driving.
Similarly, when your network is very fast, video quality automatically adjusts to higher resolution – meaning more data is consumed.
Platforms such as YouTube or TikTok often have their settings on ‘auto.’ When the network speed is high, they automatically switch to HD or 4K quality, increasing data use.
Customers can fix this by manually selecting lower quality, like 720p, to reduce consumption.
Another reason for data consumption is automatic background updates. Many phones are set to update apps or software automatically.
Customers should set these updates to happen only over Wi-Fi or manually. Otherwise, mobile data gets used without their knowledge.
What challenges have you faced with regulatory coverage obligations?
Policymakers, like Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), emphasize that we must cover 95 percent of the population, but they do not always consider the economics behind it. In urban centres, finding space for towers is also a challenge – even in places like Parliament, where we have advised them to reserve space for proper signal distribution. Some areas are not feasible for coverage expansion without government input.
What challenges have you faced in expanding your network, especially in rural or low-demand areas?
A single tower costs around $200,000 to $300,000 for passive infrastructure and $100,000 for active components. If an area has only about 100 customers, most of them using basic phones, it is not commercially viable. That is why government support, either through CAPEX (infrastructure costs) or OPEX (operating costs), would help in non-commercial areas.
What is Airtel’s long-term strategy for network investment and growth?
It is a continuous journey. The network is like a road – as traffic grows, we widen it. We shall keep expanding where there is demand but also fulfill our coverage obligations. Ultimately, smartphone penetration is key: the more people who can afford smartphones, the more data consumption grows, and that drives data prices down over time.