Tanzania Licences Five More Cellcos

An unconfirmed report in Tanzania’s The Citizen newspaper claims that the national telecoms regulator has licensed five more companies to offer cellular-based services in the country. According to the paper, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has licensed MyCell, Egotel, Rural Netco, Smile and ExcellentCom, bringing to a round dozen the number of licensed mobile players in Tanzania. ‘They are expected to enter the country’s communication industry when the process to give them network facility licensees is completed,’ TCRA director-general John Nkoma is quoted as telling the ICT Summit in Dar es Salaam.

Smiles Launches as Uganda's Seventh Phone Operator

Smiles Communications Uganda has launched its WiMAX network in the capital city of Kampala, with plans to cover the entire country by the end of next year.

'We bring to the Ugandan market a WiMAX platform that uses voice over internet protocol (VoIP) to make calls, the first of its kind on the African continent,' the company's CEO, Mr. Philip said.

Mr. Phillip said the firm would begin with wireless table phones that would be located in public places including markets, taxis and bus parks. 'We are informed of how the competitors operate and we are going for the bottom of the pyramid business,' he told the Daily Monitor.

The other operators in Uganda are MTN, Orange Uganda, Uganda Telecom, Warid Telecom, Zain and the recently launched I-Telecom.