Uganda’s telecom sector, long defined by fierce competition between the two giants MTN and Airtel, has been steadily weaving a more connected fabric. Interoperability — the ability of networks, systems and services to work seamlessly together — is no longer just regulatory jargon. It is becoming everyday reality.
This shift did not happen overnight. It builds on years of groundwork by the Uganda Communications Commission, the Bank of Uganda and the Ministry of ICT. Interconnection rules, infrastructure-sharing guidelines and technology-neutral licensing created the foundation.
What has accelerated since about 2022 is a pragmatic recognition that duplication of expensive assets — towers, fibre, radio equipment — hurts everyone: operators’ balance sheets, rural coverage, and ultimately the customer’s wallet and experience. The market remains dominated by MTN and Airtel, yet these players are now collaborating where it makes sense while continuing to compete on services and brand.
MTN and Airtel’s Infrastructure Pact
The most visible recent milestone came in March 2025. MTN Group and Airtel Africa announced agreements to share network infrastructure in Uganda (and Nigeria), fully compliant with local regulations.
The arrangement starts with reciprocal fibre sharing and explores radio access network sharing plus related commercial and technical deals.
MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita noted at the time that there are opportunities within regulatory frameworks for sharing resources to drive higher efficiencies and improve returns. Airtel Africa’s Sunil Taldar emphasised avoiding duplication of expensive infrastructure while still competing fiercely.
The practical promise is clear: faster expansion into underserved rural areas, better 4G and emerging 5G coverage and capacity, and lower costs that can eventually translate into more affordable data and services. The Uganda Communications Commission has actively supported such arrangements under existing licensing frameworks.
More recently, the Commission has pushed coordinated fibre deployment plans and approvals to reduce the messy proliferation of poles and trenches that once littered roadsides. Fibre optic networks and tower counts have expanded significantly — tens of thousands of kilometres of fibre and thousands of towers — creating a stronger base for genuine interconnection rather than parallel, inefficient builds.
The Push for Mobile Number Portability
Parallel to the physical networks is the push for greater customer freedom. In March 2025, Uganda’s Parliament approved a policy directing the Uganda Communications Commission to urgently implement Mobile Number Portability. Subscribers would keep their numbers when switching operators, removing one of the biggest friction points that has locked many people into a single network for years.
There was also discussion of a single-SIM approach to enable seamless calls and transactions across networks. As of mid-2026, full Mobile Number Portability remains in the regulatory and technical pipeline — requiring infrastructure upgrades and protocol work — but the political and regulatory will is unmistakable.
When it lands, competition should intensify further, with operators forced to win and retain customers on service quality rather than the inertia of a familiar number.
Bridging the Money Divide
Nowhere is the need for seamless connection more urgent than in mobile money. Uganda’s financial inclusion story is largely a mobile-money story, yet for years the systems of MTN MoMo and Airtel Money operated in relative isolation, forcing users into inconvenient workarounds.
The Bank of Uganda has advanced a National Payment Switch — a unified platform designed to interconnect banks, telecom mobile-money services and fintechs. The goal is real-time settlements, lower costs and true interoperability so that a transfer from one wallet to another feels as simple as sending an SMS.
Plans have been in motion for years; by late 2025 the project was progressing toward possible launch into 2026, with links envisioned to regional systems.
Earlier mobile-money guidelines already required interoperability capabilities, and incremental steps — such as merchant codes that work across networks — are already easing daily commerce. Full realisation will depend on commercial agreements and continued investment, but the direction is set.
Fibre Links and Regional Roaming
Cross-border connectivity is advancing just as purposefully. In 2026 Uganda and Rwanda completed the physical interconnection of their national fibre-optic networks at Mirama Hills. The link is ready; commercial agreements between providers are the next step. A similar fibre connection with Kenya at Busia has also been completed, pending final institutional agreements.
These routes offer alternative paths to undersea cables, greater resilience and support for the broader East African digital market ambitions that include telecommunications, mobile financial services and data sharing.
Meanwhile the East African Community’s One Network Area continues to deliver tangible relief for travellers. Covering voice, SMS and data across Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and others, it has driven a reported more-than-900-fold increase in roaming traffic by bringing charges closer to local rates. Renewed regional consultations in recent years aim to make the experience even cheaper and more seamless.
The National IP Peering Exchange
Perhaps the most forward-looking development arrived in April 2026 with the launch of Uganda’s first National IP Peering Exchange. This neutral, open platform lets internet service providers, telecom operators, content providers, cloud and data centres, and government networks exchange domestic internet traffic locally instead of routing it abroad.
Capacity sits in the hundreds of gigabits per second range, with points in locations such as Kampala and Jinja. The benefits are immediate: lower latency, reduced costs, better reliability, and a meaningful step toward digital sovereignty. Without a local exchange, traffic is forced through international carriers, increasing both expense and delay.
