Mobile operators in Rwanda pay less than 1 percent of their revenue in direct spectrum fees, but the cost rises to about 14 percent when the expenses of meeting licence conditions are included, according to GSMA Intelligence.

The finding is included in a new GSMA report, Spectrum Policy in Africa: Enabling Investment and Empowering Consumers Through Effective Spectrum Pricing, launched October 16 in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

The report says reforms to spectrum pricing and licensing across Africa could generate more than $120 billion in additional gross domestic product between 2026 and 2035.

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Spectrum is understood as the range of radio frequencies mobile networks use to carry voice calls and internet data. Governments allocate licences that give telecom operators access to these frequencies.

The cost of the licences, alongside requirements attached to them, can affect how much money operators have left to build infrastructure, improve service and expand coverage.

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Rwanda: the direct cost of spectrum looks low on paper

Mobile operators must meet licence obligations, which can include extending geographic coverage and maintaining service-quality standards. GSMA Intelligence estimates that these requirements lift the overall cost to about 14 percent of operator revenue.

The obligations can serve important public purposes by encouraging coverage along roads, around tourist destinations such as national parks and in areas where economic activity takes place outside major population centres.

However, the GSMA says blanket requirements that are expensive to meet can put pressure on investment and make it harder for operators to fund newer technologies or keep services affordable.

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Rwanda’s spectrum history illustrates how licensing rules can affect the adoption of mobile internet.

From 2013 to 2022, spectrum in the 800-megahertz and 2.6-gigahertz bands was assigned exclusively to a single wholesale network operator under a 25-year licence intended to expand 4G coverage.

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In 2022, the country shifted toward a technology-neutral framework, allowing mobile operators to use spectrum bands for several generations of mobile technology, including 4G and 5G.

According to GSMA Intelligence, 4G penetration rose from about 2 percent to more than 30 percent within two years of the change, despite network coverage already being largely in place.

The experience shows the difference between having a mobile network available and having people adopt the services it offers.

Rwanda had an estimated 550 megahertz of mobile spectrum across the bands measured in the report’s 2025 comparison, placing it around the middle of the African countries shown.

The country’s holdings were concentrated in lower-frequency and mid-frequency bands, with none in the 3-to-7-gigahertz range identified in the chart. That range is important for 5G deployments.

Across Africa, operators held an average of about 570 megahertz of spectrum below 7 gigahertz at the end of 2025, compared with about 750 megahertz elsewhere. Spectrum costs were 24 percent higher on average than in other regions when measured against operator revenue and adjusted for the amount of spectrum assigned.

The GSMA estimates that its recommended reforms could extend 4G coverage to an additional 50 million people and 5G coverage to 170 million more by 2035, while raising average download speeds by at least 30 percent.

Its recommendations include more predictable pricing, greater availability of spectrum, licences lasting at least 20 years and realistic coverage requirements that account for the cost of delivering service.

The projected $120 billion in additional economic output applies to Africa as a whole. For Rwanda, the report says there’s a need to balance universal connectivity goals with licensing rules that leave operators able to invest in network quality, capacity and newer technologies.