Tanzania mobile subscribers more than double http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=companyNews&storyid=68954+23-Jan-2007+RTRS
Tue Jan 23, 2007
DAR ES SALAAM, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The number of Tanzanian mobile phone subscribers has more than doubled to nearly 6.5 million from just under 3 million in 2005, and is continuing to rise by more than 1,000 a day, President Jakaya Kikwete said. The east African nation liberalised its telecoms industry in 2005, introducing a technology-neutral regulation system that let companies offer services such as Internet, payphones and mobile telephony under one licence.
The new firms have provided stiff competition to former fixed-line monopoly Tanzania Telecommunications Company (TTCL).
"At the moment we have almost 6.5 million mobile phone subscribers ... It is estimated there are more than 1,000 new subscribers every day," Kikwete told visiting telecoms executives on Monday, according to a copy of his speech seen by Reuters.
"We think the number is set to increase in coming years which underscores the popularity of the mobile phone (here)."
Tanzania has four mobile operators -- Zantel, a joint venture with Emirates Telecommunications Corp. (Etisalat) <ETEL.AD>, Vodacom, joint-owned by Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile , Research) and fixed-line firm Telkom (TKGJ.J: Quote, Profile , Research), Celtel, owned by Kuwait's MTC (TELE.KW: Quote, Profile , Research) and Millicom International Cellular's (MICC.O: Quote, Profile , Research) Tigo.
Zantel, which is based on the semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago, also competes with TTCL on the Tanzanian mainland.
The country of 39 million people is among 12 regional states planning to build a 9,900 km (6,150 mile) undersea fibre optic cable linking South Africa to Sudan and connecting landlocked nation countries in between with terrestrial cables.
Kikwete said the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) -- which is set to launch by the end of 2008 -- would extend communications to Tanzanian villages with private sector help.
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