The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) reports that total telecom subscriptions reached 117.0 million in the quarter ending June 2026 (Q2 2026), up 4.51% from 111.9 million in March 2026.
Tanzania telecom subscriptions expanded across mobile, internet, and mobile money in the latest TCRA quarterly report, with 5G population coverage rising to 34.18% and internet data traffic increasing 11.65% to 1,041 petabytes.
Mobile money accounts climbed to 87.05 million, internet subscriptions reached 62.79 million, and smartphone penetration increased to 44.74%.
Telecom Subscriptions
The total number of telecom subscriptions increased by 4.51% from 111.9 million at the end of March 2026 to 117.0 million as of June 2026. The telecom penetration rate reached 167.0%.
Mobile subscriptions accounted for 99.9% of the total, with fixed subscriptions making up the remaining 0.1%.
| Month | Mobile Subscriptions | Fixed Subscriptions | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 112,760,583 | 99,107 | 112,859,690 |
| May | 114,398,050 | 100,802 | 114,498,852 |
| June | 116,850,926 | 101,369 | 116,952,295 |
Mobile Subscriptions
SIM card subscriptions are categorised as Person-to-Person (P2P) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M).
P2P subscriptions increased by 4.51% and M2M subscriptions by 4.28% during the quarter.
Vodacom (DSE: VODA) held the largest market share at 33.0%, followed by Yas at 28.6%, Airtel at 20.5%, Halotel at 16.4%, and TTCL at 1.5%.
| Month | Airtel | Halotel | TTCL | Vodacom | Yas | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 23,618,193 | 18,425,781 | 1,635,907 | 36,856,159 | 32,323,650 | 112,859,690 |
| May | 23,707,703 | 18,623,666 | 1,684,220 | 37,728,322 | 32,754,941 | 114,498,852 |
| June | 23,966,215 | 19,235,137 | 1,776,132 | 38,558,459 | 33,416,352 | 116,952,295 |
Dar es Salaam led all regions with 21.53 million subscriptions, followed by Mwanza with 7.75 million, Arusha with 7.04 million, Mbeya with 6.73 million, and Dodoma with 6.24 million.
The smartphone penetration rate increased to 44.74% from 42.50% in March 2026, while the number of smartphones rose by 5.16% to 31.34 million.
A total of 9,933 telecom towers were recorded across the country, with Dar es Salaam leading at 1,242 towers.
Mobile Network Coverage
Investment in telecommunication infrastructure has increased the rollout of mobile network coverage.
5G recorded the most notable increase, with population coverage expanding to 34.18% and geographical coverage to 11.34%, while the rollout of 5G base stations increased by 8.5% to 1,958 gNBs.
| Technology | Coverage Type | March 2026 | June 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2G | Population | 98.65% | 98.66% |
| 3G | Population | 93.94% | 93.95% |
| 4G | Population | 94.32% | 94.39% |
| 5G | Population | 32.83% | 34.18% |
| 2G | Geographical | 79.62% | 79.86% |
| 3G | Geographical | 76.31% | 76.41% |
| 4G | Geographical | 77.43% | 77.53% |
| 5G | Geographical | 11.04% | 11.34% |
Mobile Money
Mobile money subscriptions refer to the number of active SIM cards with mobile money accounts used at least once in the past three months.
Mobile money subscriptions increased by 7.5% from 80.98 million accounts in March 2026 to 87.05 million in June 2026.
The market remains highly concentrated, with Mixx by Yas, M-Pesa, and Airtel Money controlling around 89% of subscriptions, led by M-Pesa at 40.6%, followed by Mixx by Yas at 32.0% and Airtel Money at 16.4%.
Mobile money transactions increased by 5.38% during the quarter, reaching 2.1 billion in the quarter ending June 2026.
For the full year 2025, transactions reached 6.31 billion, up from 3.74 billion in 2024.
TCRA did not disclose the value of mobile money transactions in its report.
Internet Subscriptions
Internet subscriptions increased by 6.48% from 58.97 million in March 2026 to 62.79 million as of June 2026. The internet penetration rate reached 89.7%.
Mobile broadband is the most popular means of accessing the internet, with 37,575,797 subscriptions, representing 59.84% of total internet subscriptions.
2G technology holds significant usage with 24,628,003 subscriptions.
Fibre technologies such as Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) and Fibre-to-the-Office (FTTO) account for a smaller share of subscriptions.
Internet data traffic increased by 11.65% from 932 petabytes in March 2026 to 1,041 petabytes in June 2026.
Local voice traffic increased by 7.44% to 48.82 billion minutes, while SMS traffic declined by 0.05% to 55.05 billion.
Mobile networks recorded an average download speed of 14.26 Mbps and an average latency of 76.79 ms across measured service areas during the quarter, while fixed broadband recorded an average download speed of 31.77 Mbps, an average upload speed of 26.67 Mbps, and an average latency of 15.67 ms.
The total number of registered domain names increased from 38,409 at the end of March 2026 to 40,528 by the end of June 2026.
Approximately 15.4% of Tanzania’s international internet capacity is currently in use, leaving 14,959 Gbps, equivalent to 84.6%, available for new activation.
The gap between available and utilised international capacity represents an opportunity for further investment in broadband internet services.
Want to know more about Telecoms in Tanzania? Our free overview of the Tanzania Business and Investment Guide 2026 covers Telecoms, plus key sectors and investment opportunities. The complete 141-page edition includes policies, taxation, key regulations, full macroeconomic data, and sources, and is also available at no cost upon completion of a short form.
Download Free OverviewGet the Full Edition for Free
