As the number of antenna towers dotting Uganda’s landscape increases, the government is working on regulations to encourage infrastructure sharing among the network operators. A major problem is the lack of access to the electricity grid in many rural areas. The network operators depend on diesel generator power for more than 40% of their sites, which can add operational costs of up to US$200,000 per year per site. As a result, MTN, Zain, UTL and Warid formed a consortium in 2009 to share costs of connecting their sites to the grid.
ATC Uganda, a joint venture between MTN and American Tower Corporation (ATC) took over MTN’s towers in Uganda in December 2011. ATC paid US$89 million for a 51% stake in the new company. It plans to roll out more than 280 new sites in the country over the next three years
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Uganda market overview
Population: 34.5m
Mobile subscribers: 16.7m
Mobile penetration: 48.4%
GDP per capita (PPP current USD): $1,354
(Source: World Bank, 2011)
Cell sites: 3,067, of which 1,267 off-grid (GSMA)
Coverage: 75.8% (GSMA)
ARPU estimated at $3.80 in 2011 (BMI)
Mobile internet users: 977,500 (UCC)
