TCRA Report: Tanzania Hits 117M Telecom Subscriptions

In Short

• Tanzania’s regulator says telecom subscriptions rose to about 117 million by June 2026.
• Vodacom led with 33% share, and Yas Tanzania was second at 28.6%.
• Internet subscriptions and data usage grew, while SMS fell slightly.
• Smartphone penetration rose to 44.74%, highlighting an affordability gap.

What Happened

TCRA’s latest sector performance report shows Tanzania had roughly 117 million telecommunications subscriptions by the end of June 2026. That is up from 111.9 million in March, a 4.51% increase in one quarter.

The number is not the same as unique people, because many users have multiple SIM cards. Still, it is a useful measure of how much Tanzanians rely on mobile connectivity for calls, messaging, and digital services.

On market share, Vodacom held 33% of subscriptions. Yas followed with 28.6%. Airtel had 20.5%, Halotel 16.4%, and TTCL 1.5%.

Internet subscriptions increased 6.48% to 62.79 million, and internet penetration reached 89.7%. Data consumption rose 11.65% to 1,041 petabytes, which is a very large unit of data. Mobile broadband was the main access method, accounting for 59.84% of internet subscriptions.

TCRA also reported that local voice traffic grew 7.44%, while SMS traffic dipped 0.05%. This supports the idea that messaging is shifting to internet-based apps.

Why It Matters

The report shows Tanzania is building momentum in digital adoption, with more people going online and using more data. That growth supports sectors like mobile money, e-commerce, online learning, and digital government services.

But device access is still a bottleneck. Smartphones connected to networks rose to 31.34 million, taking smartphone penetration to 44.74%. Feature phone penetration remained much higher at 83.38%, meaning many users still depend on basic phones that are less suited to app-based services.

Network coverage is improving, especially for newer mobile broadband. TCRA put population coverage at 93.95% for 3G, 94.39% for 4G, and 34.18% for 5G. The next question is whether 5G coverage turns into real economic value for businesses, schools, and hospitals.

Regional concentration also matters. Dar es Salaam led with about 21.53 million subscriptions, far ahead of other regions. Projects like the 758-tower UCSAF rollout, aimed at connecting around 1,400 villages, will be key to bringing rural users into the digital economy.