MOBILE phone network expansion has led to a 35 percent nationwide increase in active mobile lines, with four regions seeing a remarkable 41 percent rise over the past 18 months, the latest update affirms.

Dr. Jabiri Bakari, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) director general, makes this observation in the communications sector status report for January to March 2025.

All regions now have at least one 5G tower, with Mtwara, Lindi, North Pemba and Katavi being the last to be covered by 5G towers by June 2024, he says.

The top 10 regions with the most towers include Dar es Salaam (633 towers), Zanzibar West (60 towers), Dodoma (46 towers), Mwanza (41 towers), Arusha (34 towers), Mbeya (16 towers), Songwe (13 towers), Morogoro (9 towers), Coast (9 towers) and Kilimanjaro (8 towers).

Introducing 5G services in September 2022 has significantly enhanced mobile network capabilities, enabling faster data speeds and facilitating applications that require high-speed connections, as well as supporting multiple devices simultaneously, the report affirms.

As of March 2025, mobile technology penetration showed that 2G had 98.4 percent coverage, 3G at 92.2 percent, 4G up to 90.7 percent, while 5G stood at 23 percent.

Geographic coverage for each technology level stands at 2G for 76.2 percent, 3G at 74.3 percent, 4G at 73.3 percent, and 5G at 3.6 percent of total area, the update indicated.

Mobile line registrations grew by 41 percent in Kagera, Kigoma, Tabora and Tanga regions in the September 2023 to March 2025o period, while ongoing infrastructure development plans include the completion of 758 new phone towers and upgrades to 300 existing towers across the country. This expansion is designed to support advanced mobile technologies such as 3G, 4G, and 5G.

By September 2023 there were 67,024,338 registered mobile lines and as of March 2025, this number had increased to 90,298,941in total, it was noted.

Significant growth was noted in Kagera, from 1,577,159 lines to 2,224,115 active lines. Kigoma from 1,279,021 to 1,803,679 lines, Tabora from 3,099,517 to 4,371,032 active lines, and Tanga: from 2,365,189 to 3,335,396 lines, it says.

The regions also featured among 12 with the highest number of 4G-enabled towers, it said.

Advanced communication technologies are enhancing call quality and increasing data transmission speeds, meeting the growing demands of Tanzanian mobile users, the report asserted.

The Universal Communications Service Access Fund (UCSAF), into which funds are collected for the construction and upgrading of communication towers, has been tasked with the initiative since May 13, 2023, on the say-so of the president.

Additionally, 42 new towers have been constructed in Unguja and Pemba, with the total number of mobile towers across Tanzania rising to 9,278 from 8,551 in June 2024, an 8.5 percent increase, it said.

The progress of 5G technology had reached 23 percent of the population and 3.6 percent of the geographic area as of March 2025, it added.