Telecom sub sector of Uganda is relatively young and it has been growing rapidly and consistently over the past decade since 2010 when the sub sector was liberalized. For instance there was only one telecommunications service provider in 1996 with a total number of 3000 mobile subscribers (UCC, 2003) but currently there are 8 providers.
Mobile Money transactions
The total number of registered mobile money customers increased by 13.9 percent from 18.529 (thousand) customers in 2014 to 21.102 (thousand) customers in 2015. The number of transactions (information exchange) increased by 37.5 percent from 49.4 million in 2014 to 67.9 million in 2015. The value of the transactions increased from 2,316 billion shillings in 2014 to 11,446 billion shillings in 2015.
Mobile Money transactions, 2011-2015
| Subscribers | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | % Change |
| Mobile money registered customers | 2,829 | 5,662 | 14,243 | 18,529 | 21,102 | 13.9 |
| (number ‘000)
Transactions (number ‘000) |
87,500 |
94,500 |
38,351 |
49,418 |
67,938 |
37.5 |
| Transactions (Value bn Shs) | 3,753 | 4,900 | 1,982 | 2,316 | 11,446 |
Source: Bank of Uganda
Internet market
During 2015, the total number of internet subscribers increased by 28.8 percent as compared to 55.9 percent registered in 2014. This increase was due to a 14.8 percent increase in the fixed internet subscribers and a 29.1 percent increase in the mobile wireless internet subscribers. The internet penetration increased from 29.5 percent in 2014 to 39.7 percent in 2015. The internet users per a hundred thousand people also increased from 10,813 users in 2014 to 13,842 users in 2015 representing a 34.6 percent increase
Internet subscriptions, 2011-2015
| Users and subscribers |
2011 |
2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | Annual
Percentage increase |
| Fixed Internet Subscribers | 88,786 | 96,000 | 100,900 | 113,400 | 130,200 | 14.8 |
| Mobile wireless internet subscriptions | 977,500 | 2,692,705 | 3,625,559 | 5,694,930 | 7,349,540 | 29.1 |
| Estimated internet users (‘000) | 4,800 | 6,200 | 7,314 | 10,813 | 13,842 | 28.0 |
| Internet penetration | 3.2 | 8.2 | 20.7 | 29.5 | 39.7 | 34.6 |
Source: Uganda Communications Commision
Telecom subsector has been summarized to include the following
General Mobile Phone Distributors in Uganda