Uganda: MTN launches first 5G network, UCC Clears Airtel

Telecom firm MTN Uganda, a unit of South Africa’s MTN Group, on Friday launched the first 5G network in the east African country.

MTN has Uganda’s largest subscriber base at around 15 million. It chiefly competes with a local unit of Bharti Airtel.

5G offers faster data speeds and lower latency or response time.

Sylvia Mulinge, MTN Uganda’s chief executive officer, said the company planned to roll out full 5G coverage in the capital Kampala by the end of 2024 and that over the next two years all its base sites in major cities would also be converted to 5G.

Meanwhile Airtel Uganda customers with 5G compatible devices will now be able to enjoy the 5G experience after regulator, Uganda Communications Commission cleared the telecom company to roll out the spectrum in the country.

The telecom giant indicated in February that all their 100% 4G network then, was 5G ready and had applied for the required spectrum to start rolling out this revolutionary technology.

Speaking on Thursday, Airtel Uganda Managing Director, Manoj Murali said the wait is now over with the green light from UCC.

"I am privileged to announce that the wait for 5G is over. We have got the required spectrum and shall be begin deployment next week. We were able to transform the way people, businesses and communities connect and do business using 4G and are grateful to our partners for the support on that journey. 5G will revolutionise the way people, businesses and industry connect and improve their productivity because of the super-fast internet speeds. We are deeply honoured to be delivering yet another Airtel first,"Murali said.

Unlike others, 5G delivers higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users.

5G can support up to 1 million connected devices per square kilometre compared to 4G which can only support up to 100,000 connected devices in a similar area which makes 5G the suitable network over which remote teams can collaborate to undertake tasks like surgery, shared online school classes, farmers can share live video farming tips, engineering tasks over video and stream gaming and other entertainment experiences.

PM