THE quality of mobile communication services countrywide has surpassed industry projected thresholds, thanks to the growing adoption of advanced technologies, the regulator has affirmed.

Dr Jabiri Bakari, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) director general, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that a survey conducted across 17 regions shows that voice, data and video streaming services are now available seamlessly.

The survey evaluated the performance of five leading mobile phone service providers, finding significant improvements in voice and data quality, as well as seamless connectivity across regions, he stated.

TCRA measured key performance indicators such as network availability, call connection efficiency, voice quality and data transmission speeds in the regions surveyed, he explained.

The survey also assessed the availability of mobile technologies that support voice, short messaging, data, video streaming and high-speed internet services, he elaborated.

“The findings show an overall industry quality improvement of 1.6 points, rising from 91 percent to 92.6 percent from June to September 2024),” he stated, pointing at the Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation Ltd (TTCL) as seeing a substantial improvement, increasing its score by 8 points, from 78 percent to 86 percent.

Regions surveyed were Arusha, Dodoma, Iringa, Mara, Morogoro, Mwanza, and Njombe, as well as North Pemba, North Unguja, Coast, Ruvuma, Simiyu, Singida, South Pemba, South Unguja, Tanga and Zanzibar Urban Wes, he said.

He stressed efforts by TCRA in enforcing regulations on the quality of service provision through quarterly data taking to ensure sustained improvement.

The report also highlighted an increase in the population coverage for 3G, 4G, and 5G mobile technologies, noticed during the June to September 2024 survey.

Coverage for these networks rose by 1/0 to 20 percentage points, where 3G coverage covers 90.1 percent of the subscribers, 4G coverage: 85 percent of the networks’ population, while 5G coverage reaches 2.0 percent of total subscribers, he said.

Geographical coverage was by comparison narrower, with 3G coverage standing at 74 percent, 4G accessibility at 69 percent and 5G at 2.2 percent, he specified.

The penetration of smartphones among the population also increased, rising from 31.6 percent to 33.9 percent of subscribers from June tyo September 2024.the report indicates.

Additionally, SIM cards used for data network communications grew by 5.5 percent, from 962,928 to 1,015,820 during the period, with the East African Communications Organisation (EACO)o saying recently that Tanzania leads East African nations in mobile communication technology penetration. 

“This achievement is largely attributed to an efficient regulatory framework, sustained infrastructure investments and initiatives aimed at improving rural coverage,” the top regulator affirmed.