The number of Rwandans using mobile phones increased marginally at the end of July, the latest mobile telephone subscriptions report shows. The report was released by Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), the sector’s regulator. The quarterly report indicates that the total number of active mobile telephone subscriptions in the country increased from 9,226,721 at the end of June to 9,321,347 at the end of July-2018 to, an increase of 1.03 per cent. The regulator uses 90-day revenue-generating subscriber returns from telecom firms to compute the figures. The mobile-cellular telephone penetration rate rose by 0. 80 per cent from 78.13 per cent to 78.93 per cent. Postpaid subscriptions increased to 135,369 at the end of July from 133,638 the previous month, while the prepaid subscriptions increased from 9,093,083 at the end of June to 9,185,978 as of July. RURA is still recording active mobile telephone users based on three telecom firms – MTN, Airtel and Tigo – despite approving the Airtel-Tigo merger on January 23. Airtel Rwanda early this year acquired Tigo Rwanda consequently increasing their market share to about 5.1 million subscribers. Beyond revenue receipts, market share is important for telcos as they greatly influence a firm’s ability to innovate and roll out new products. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
