The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) recently confirmed that all Uganda telecom networks serve 33 million SIM cards but this number doesn’t clearly reflect the mobile penetration rates in the country. Whereas the number of mobile phone SIM cards stands is that high, UCC acknowledges that there are fewer Ugandans that own mobile phones.
This was revealed by Ms. Irene Kaggwa Sewankambo, the UCC executive director while speaking at a panel discussion during the launch of the World Bank 2022 Uganda Poverty Assessment Report in Kampala. She said that there are 33 million active SIM cards, but many of these are owned through multiple subscriptions with one person having more than one line. With the recent introduction of eSIM technology by Airtel, the situation will not get any better.
“Ultimately the population with mobile phones is smaller,” she said. There is no doubt that the growth in smartphone ownership remains low with many people using still using phones for making and receiving calls.
The 2022 Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) report has ranked Uganda at the 98th position in the world regarding digital well-being. That is out of 117 countries, or 92% of the global population. Out of the five fundamental digital life pillars, Uganda came second last in regards to internet affordability (ranking 116th globally), and the best is for e-security at the 66th position. Uganda’s e-government services come 92nd, while internet quality and e-infrastructure rank 107th and 110th, respectively. In the face of waging inflation, fixed broadband internet has become less affordable worldwide for the second year in a row, prying the global digital divide even further.
According to the Global Internet Value Index for 2022, Uganda is ranked 113th out of 115 countries included in the index. This ranking is based on factors such as internet affordability, quality, and accessibility. Uganda has a relatively low internet penetration rate, with only 28.7% of the population using the internet as of 2022. In contrast, neighboring Kenya has a much higher internet penetration rate of 53.1%, and Tanzania has a rate of 14.8%.
The penetration rate in 2020 was 61 percent for mobile subscriptions and 44 percent for mobile broadband. Overall, 59 percent of people aged 16 and above had access to mobile phones, of which 52 percent used their own while 7 percent used someone else’s mobile phone which means they own no SIM Card.
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