News analysis: Mobile users up by 1.5%

More Rwandans presently use mobile phones after telecom regulator, Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA), announced that mobile penetration rate increased to 40.8 per cent in October 2011 up from 39.6 per cent in August. According to statistics from RURA, mobile users increased by 1.5 per cent to 4,370,145 million in the month of October, up from 4,304,532 million in September. MTN Rwanda remained the market leader after it registered an increase of 0.8 per cent on it voice customers while TIGO Rwanda trails even as it registered an increase of 2.5 per cent. MTN’s now has 2,888,869 subscribers while TIGO has 1,481,276. With the imminent entry of Airtel, RURA projects to hit 60 per cent mobile penetration rate by the end of next year. The Director General of RURA, , Regis Gatarayiha, told Business Times that Airtel was awarded a license with an obligation to launch their services within one year. “This gives them the liberty to do all things necessary to make sure that their service launch happens not later than September 8, 2012,” Gatarayiha explained. “On ground people might not see them but RURA is constantly monitoring their efforts towards meeting their license obligations and we know for a fact that they are quietly working around the clock to beat the deadline.” Ends