Mobile phone subscribers hit 6 million

Half the population of Rwanda now use mobile phones, latest figures from the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA) indicate.This was attributed to increasing competition amongst telecoms companies, as well as the escalating relevance of communication in business transactions.The statistics show that mobile phone subscribers shot to 6,039,615 in March this year from 5,902,630 in January, indicating a monthly increase of about 8.14 per cent.The mobile penetration rate also surged this quarter to 57.3 per cent from 53.1 per cent at the end of December last year.“This is mainly attributed to the new mobile telephone subscriptions and the actual population which was found to be less than the projected population,” RURA reports.The country’s largest mobile company, MTN Rwanda lost 2,088 subscribers between the same periods, according to RURA with 3,452,182 active lines down from 3,454,270 in January.With over 3.4 million subscribers, MTN remains the dominant player controlling more than half of the total market share with Tigo in second spot.The newest entrant, Airtel Rwanda, boasts a rise in subscriber base of 781,162 in March from 570,739 in January.

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Mobile phone subscribers hit 6 million