Cell phone users hit 4.62m

Rwanda’s mobile phone subscribers increased by 2.4 per cent in the month of May, according to figures released by industry regular, Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA), this week.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Rwanda’s mobile phone subscribers increased by 2.4 per cent in the month of May, according to figures released by industry regular, Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA), this week.The regulator’s website indicates that the combined figure for all three operators increased to 4,619,429 million mobile subscribers in May, up from 4,508,666 the previous month.The figures only represent active revenue generating mobile subscribers for 90 days.New entrant, Bharti Airtel, which launched almost three months ago, has had an additional 55,400 users."Market leader, MTN Rwanda, added 34,951 cell phone users between April and May, to 2,987,213 up from 2,952,262 in April, while sector rival Tigo Rwanda attracted 20,412 customers, down from 1,556,404 million in April to 1,576,816 million,” the regulator data indicated.The data also indicates that the country’s mobile penetration rate increased to 43 per cent in May from 42 per cent in April. The regulator targets 60 per cent mobile penetration rate and 6 million cell phone users by December this year.