MORE Tanzanians have replaced their analogues cell phones with smart devices, according to data from communications regulator.

Dr Jabiri Bakari, director general of Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) said told reporters in Dar es Salaam at the weekend that penetration of smartphones among the population increased to 32.59 per cent in March 2024 from 32.13 in December 2023. 

Cumulatively, smartphone penetration increased by eight percentage points between December 2021 and March 2024, from 15 percent to 32.6 percent of the population. This is significant as smartphones accelerate internet uptake. Some 99.8 percent of internet users access the service on mobile phones and tablets.

 Analogue phones decreased from 85.62 per cent in December 2023 to 85.56 in March 2024, he said. 

 Registered SIM cards increased from 54,044,384 in December 2021 to 72,496,095 in March 2024. Mobile money accounts went up from 35,285,767 to 53,013,385 in the period. 

 Devices used for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, also known as the internet of things, account for 929,283 of registered SIM cards.  M2M is direct communication among devices that share data on a network.

 The TCRA boss said that programmes by Tanzania’s agencies dedicated to rural communications and electrification – the Universal Communications Services Access Fund (UCSAF) and Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have enabled more Tanzanians to access ICTs through smart devices. 

UCSAF is coordinating the construction and upgrading, of more than 1,000 mobile phone base stations to expand high-speed internet in rural areas.  Some 758 new towers are being built in Tanzania Mainland and 42 in Unguja and Pemba. More than 300 are being upgraded to support advanced mobile communications technologies.

Some 96.4 percent of all villages in Tanzania Mainland had been connected with electricity by March 2024, Minister for Energy Dr Doto Biteko told the National Assembly in Dodoma recently. 

 Availability of electricity in many villages has pushed the demand for decoders for accessing digital terrestrial (DTT) satellite and cable television broadcasts. 

 TCRA’s latest communications sector status report shows that DTT decoders increased from 3.7 million to 3.8 million between January and March 2024.