Its been 10 years since Airtel Uganda officially launched in the country. The year was 1995 when it launched to the populous as Celtel characterized with hefty charges to its subscribers. Its customers were regarded rich as it won them a special status among the masses for owning the then bulky phones from Celtel which were characterized with expensive plans. Those with good memory should know that the brick looking Ericsson were today’s iPhones by then. In fact, most mobile phones were called Celtel.
The Memory lane
All this changed when South African based MTN joined the race and drastic changes happened to the Ugandan telecommunications space and its entry intensified competition that saw prices drop following a downward spiral for the common man to finally join the connected world.
It then switched hands to Zain in 2007 when its operations were bought by Kuwait based Zain group which also sold to Bharti Airtel in 2010 and the telco rebranded as Airtel. In 2012, Airtel reported a $120 million buy off of Warid Assets and licenses a move that turned Airtel into a stronger No.2 behind MTN Uganda. This acquisition gave the company an estimated 7 million subscribers at the time.
Eight years down the road through the leadership of different MDs including the soon to resign V.G Somasekhar, Airtel Uganda Limited is now a strong brand, they’ve made it to the list of Top 10 most admired brands in Africa. With a base of over 100m subscribers across 14 countries in Africa. V.G has been instrumental in rolling out the company’s 4G across the country and also recently launched the Airtel TV app among other things.
Strong Financials
By the end of 2018, the company finally became profitable and its turnover grew 5% from UGX 1.16 trillion in 2017 to UGX 1.21 trillion and net profit grew much healthier- an impressive 38%- from UGX 245 billion to UGX 338.1 billion ahead of MTN’s UGX220 billion on a gross UGX 1.6 trillion in revenue, making Airtel, Uganda’s most profitable telecom company.
Crossing the 10 million subscriber milestone
Another important milestone for the big Red telecom was early 2918 when they announced that they had crossed the 10 million subscriber mark on the Network. Its no doubt that MTN Uganda is followed by Airtel Uganda as the 2nd most popular mobile network in Uganda. Airtel at the time joined MTN in the 10 million-plus subscriber club thus clearly promising better service delivery against rival telecommunication companies.
K2 Partnership
In July 2018, Airtel Uganda and K2 Telecom signed a brand endorsement Agreement that will see K2 subscribers enjoy all the services offered by the Airtel network. As part of the agreement, people in Buganda region will get an opportunity to buy a co-branded K2-Airtel SIM cards in the 0708 series and connect onto the quality services offered by Airtel Uganda across the country such as wide coverage, high-speed internet, 3G/4G network, Airtel Money, affordable packages, roaming, and international services as well as all Value-Added Services.
Airtel TV
Early this year, Airtel Uganda ventured into the entertainment industry with a whole new product dubbed Airtel TV. While launching at Ndere Center in Ntinda, MD VG Somasekhar said that this is a one-stop-shop for all its customer’s entertainment. From Uganda, you will get all the live TV, movies, music, and the content is free of charge. All you need is a valid Airtel bundle. The launch comes a few days after MTN launched its partnership with YoTV Channels to avail affordable data bundles for streaming local content.
ALSO READ: Why UCC is excited about Airtel Uganda’s 2,000 telecom masts
Early this year, Airtel Managing Director VG Somasekhar, who hosted the e-meeting, and announced that the company has over 2,000 masts across Uganda, Airtel consumers can now enjoy the best 4G LTE experience.
Airtel Uganda COVID-19 fight
The company surprised the masses when the made a huge donation in fighting COVID-19 with UGX 1.25Bn. The donation was handed over by Airtel Uganda MD, VG Somasekhar, and his team. The support will go towards the procurement of more test kits which is a critical area of need in this fight. The money will also be used by the ministry of health to support frontline health workers in the fight to end COVID-19 in Uganda, bringing to the total amount of cash donations to UGX 6 billion.
And Now….
Speaking during the announcement of the 10-year anniversary celebrations, V.G Somasekhar, the Airtel Uganda Managing Director said,
“As a subsidiary of Airtel Africa Limited, we look at ourselves as a proudly Ugandan company here to uphold our promise to connect and enable millions of Ugandans. Our journey began with a commitment to provide the people of Uganda access to quality and affordable mobile telecommunications services. With the countrywide modernized network, today we are providing the fastest, most reliable and affordable telecommunications services across Uganda”
To mark the 10-year celebrations, Airtel is also introducing Thank you Monday Bundles which are a very generous combo of Voice and Data every Monday for the entire month of June 2020. You will get 3GB and 100mins at only UGX 5,000 valid for 3 days OR 1.5GB and 30 mins at UGX 2,500 valid for 24hours.
How to buy the Thank you Monday bundle
- Dial *149*10# for the bundles using Airtime or Airtel Money.
- How to gift a Thank you Monday bundle?
- Dial *149*10#, select option 3 –Gift and follow prompts or *100*2*7# select option 3 – Gift and follow prompts.
