The 4th quarter of 2009 ended well for the telecom industry with a record peak of 15,376,305 telephone subscriptions in the country. This is made up of 15,108,916 mobile cellular subscriptions and 267,389 fixed network subscriptions.

Mobile network subscriptions increased from 14,242,476 in the 3rd quarter to 15,108,916 in the 4th quarter, representing a 6% growth over the 3rd quarter. This substantial growth in subscriptions in the 4th quarter was obviously due to the Christmas festivities, where people normally buy cellular phones for their loved ones as gifts.

On the other hand, the fixed network saw a reverse growth, from 267,432 access lines in the 3rd quarter to 267,389 lines, representing a negative growth of 0.02%. Obviously, people are abandoning their fixed lines for cellular service.

Subscription Market Shares

MTN still remains the market leader in subscriptions, with a market share of 52%. This is followed by TiGo and Vodafone Mobile with 22% and 14% respectively. Zain has 8%, whiles that of Kasapa  is 2%.

Trends in Access Lines up till June 2010

Trends in Access Lines for 2009