Find out who is a cut above the rest in the battle of the Telcos. We analyze top metrics and Tanzania Telecom Statistics from the Q1 March 2020 update released by the TCRA.
TANZANIA TELECOM STATISTICS BY TCRA – MARCH 2020
Internet usage in Tanzania continues to grow as made evident by the most recent stats released by the TCRA (Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority). The data compiled and summarized by the authority is based on quarterly submitted data by Telecommunications companies / Mobile Network Operators in the country.
From 2011 when the last survey first conducted, the number of estimated internet users has constantly grown every year from 5.3 million in 2011 to 26.8 million in 2020, representing a 46% penetration rate. Internet subscribers have also increased by 151% from 571,412 to 1.4 million.
The highlight continues to be the rapid mobile penetration (mobile devices and tablets) in internet usage with the current figure close to 90% of all internet usage.
On the subject of market subscriptions, Vodacom still leads the pack with 32% market share, closely followed by Airtel with 27%, Tigo is third with 26% while Halotel trails at 11%. The remaining four percent is shared by TTCL, Zantel and Smile.
Other highlights from the March 2020 update
Tanzania Telecom Statistics - March 2020 Update
| METRICS | AIRTEL | HALOTEL | SMILE | TIGO | TTCL | VODACOM | ZANTEL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On Net Voice Tariff | 51 | 51 | 60 | 77 | 60 | 113 | 71 |
| Off Net Voice Tariff | 51 | 51 | 60 | 77 | 60 | 113 | 78 |
| East Africa Voice Tariffs | 885 | 748 | 1314 | 872 | 708 | 850 | 850 |
| International Voice Tariffs | 1794 | 1338 | 1490 | 1613 | 1527 | 1722 | 1227 |
| Local SMS Tariffs | 8 | 26 | 15 | 60 | 25 | 24 | 25 |
| International SMS Tariffs | 184 | 81 | 250 | 184 | 138 | 274 | 184 |
| Standard Data Tariff (Tax Incl. per MB) | 40 | 26 | 6 | 40 | 14 | 98 | 41 |
| On Net Estimates of disaggregated bundle - Voice (Min) | 3 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 6 | |
| On Net Estimates of disaggregated bundle - SMS | 1 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| On Net Estimates of disaggregated bundle - Data (MB) | 37 | 4 | 23 | 0.7 | 5 | 5 | |
| Off Net Estimates of disaggregated bundle - Voice (Min) | 7 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 34 | 3 | |
| Off Net Estimates of disaggregated bundle - SMS | 1 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 7 | |
| Off Net Estimates of disaggregated bundle - Data (MB) | 35 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 14 | |
| Number of Telecom Subscriptions | 13390131 | 5199112 | 829 | 12641426 | 1190427 | 15591430 | 926175 |
| Operators' Subscription Market Shares | 27% | 11% | 0.002% | 26% | 2% | 32% | 2% |
| Addition of Subscriptions Q1 2020 | 370097 | 409658 | -307 | -41956 | 96614 | -374765 | -235688 |
| Percentage Shares of Local SMS | 27% | 24% | 0.002% | 22% | 1% | 25% | 1% |
| Percentage Shares of International SMS | 11% | 9.3% | 0% | 20% | 8% | 49% | 3% |
| Mobile Money Subscriptions | 5626586 | 1853290 | 0 | 8330330 | 825888 | 10102681 | 388523 |
| Mobile Money Subscriptions Market Share | 21% | 7% | 0% | 31% | 3% | 37% | 1% |
| Mobile Money Transactions | 56914579 | 14809315 | 0 | 75107094 | 825501 | 106352098 | 2956294 |
| Mobile Money Value of Transactions | 1642225613794 | 194598762724 | 0 | 1995840604555 | 10955123254 | 5084530555683 | 89734186856 |
| On net Traffic Shares | 33% | 8% | 0% | 20% | 0.01% | 36% | 3% |
| Off Net Traffic Shares | 37% | 11% | 0% | 29% | 1% | 19% | 3% |
| EA Traffic Shares | 21% | 4% | 0% | 11% | 1% | 62% | 1% |
| Other Internationals Traffic Shares | 0% | 8% | 0% | 35% | 5% | 50% | 2% |
More in the official report here. For older stats including some referenced above from 2011, see here.
Winners in various categories
Below we rank the Telcos based on performance in various Voice, SMS and data categories. Each metric win scores 1 point. The overall winners are listed by category and by all categories. All of the Tanzania Telecom statistics are sourced from the TCRA.
Voice and SMS Basic Tariffs (Tax inclusive) as of March 2020
These are per minute charges for making direct calls without subscribing to a bundle. They are also known as Pay As You Go or Standard tariff. The cheapest Telcos win.
On Net Voice Tariff – Airtel and Halotel
Off Net Voice Tariff – Airtel and Halotel
East Africa Voice Tariffs – TTCL
International Voice Tariffs – Zantel
Local SMS Tariffs – Airtel
International SMS Tariffs – Halotel
Overall category Winner – Airtel and Halotel (3 points)
Standard Data Tariff as of March 2020 (Tax inclusive)
Price per MB outside bundles. The cheapest Telcos win.
Standard Data Tariff – Smile
Overall category Winner – Smile (1 point)
Bundle Tariff
Estimated and dis-aggregated Average Bundle Tariffs (Tax inclusive) as of March 2020.
These are average tariffs combined from daily, weekly and monthly bundle and dis-aggregated to Minutes, SMS and MBs with the assumption that ratio of each of these three components in the bundle are construed from standard tariffs. The cheapest Telcos win.
On Net Estimates of disaggregated bundle – Voice (Min) – Halotel
On Net Estimates of disaggregated bundle – SMS – Airtel
On Net Estimates of disaggregated bundle – Data (MB) – TTCL
Off Net Estimates of disaggregated bundle – Voice (Min) – Halotel and Zantel
Off Net Estimates of disaggregated bundle – SMS – Airtel and Vodacom
Off Net Estimates of disaggregated bundle – Data (MB) – TTCL
Overall category Winner – Halotel, Airtel and TTCL (2 points)
Addition of Subscriptions per Operator in this quarter (January-March 2020)
This measures the net addition through Q1 2020. We don’t consider market share or current number of subscriptions but rather how a Telco did for the period under review. The Telcos with the most additions win.
Quarter net addition of subscribers – Halotel
Overall category Winner – Halotel (1 point)
Percentage Shares of Traffic Minutes Per Operators as of March 2020
The Telcos with the largest traffic shares win.
Local Traffic Minutes – On net Traffic Shares – Vodacom
Local Traffic Minutes – Off net Traffic Shares – Airtel
International Traffic Minutes – EA Traffic Shares – Vodacom
International Traffic Minutes – Other Internationals Traffic Shares – Vodacom
Overall category Winner – Vodacom (3 points)
SHORT MESSAGES (SMS)
Percentage Shares of Local and International SMS. The Telcos with the largest traffic shares win.
Percentage Shares of SMS Per Operators – Percentage Shares of Local SMS – Airtel
Percentage Shares of SMS Per Operators – Percentage Shares of International SMS – Vodacom
Overall category Winner – Airtel and Vodacom (1 point)
MOBILE MONEY SERVICES
Mobile Money Subscriptions (Mobile Money Accounts) are ignored here as they simply indicate market share. Instead, we look at the monetary value of transactions (here we also ignore the number of mobile money transactions as the performance is in the value traded although for the most part there is a positive correlation between the two).
Mobile Money Value of Transactions – Vodacom
Overall category Winner – Vodacom (1 point)
Summary
Granted, the metrics above are by no means complete but they offer a reliable overview of Tanzania Telecom statistics and Telco performance.
In choosing the overall winner, we disaggregate the metrics from each category and sum the points scored by the winner for each metric rather than the overall category winner.
The winner in Q1 2020 is Airtel with a total of 7 points! Halotel and Vodacom came in close second with a total of 6 points each.