Rwanda’s mobile telecom market grew 20.9% in the second quarter and the government is considering licensing a fourth operator.

Mobile subscription improved to 3,293,891 users at the end of June, from 2,722,236 in March, according to the sector’s regulator, the Rwanda Utility and Regulatory Agency (RURA).

The country is targeting 6 million subscribers by 2012.

‘These are active subscribers because they made at least one revenue-generating activity using the SIM cards within the last three months,’ says Regis Gatarayiha, acting director general of RURA.

The growth is attributed to the lower tariffs and promotions resulting from increasing competition. Gatarayiha says that Rwanda intends to license a fourth national telecom operator, probably by the end of the year. The regulator is looking at market trends to determine when to issue the licence.

Rwandatel, partly owned by the government of Rwanda and the Libyan investment consortium, LAP Green, is the leading provider of data and Internet services in the country, commanding 70% of the market.

Source: ABNdigital