Airtel Uganda’s latest financial results reveal a clear trend: more Ugandans are choosing data over traditional voice calls—a shift that’s rapidly reshaping the country’s telecom landscape.
In its half-year report for the period ending June 30, 2025, Airtel posted a 30.4% increase in data revenue, reaching Shs 525.7 billion, and accounting for nearly half of all service revenues. Just a few years ago, voice calls were the telecom industry’s primary cash cow. Today, they’re taking a back seat to data bundles.
This transformation is evident not only in new customer sign-ups but also in how much data existing users are consuming. Airtel’s data subscriber base grew by 25.9% to 7.5 million, while average monthly usage per user jumped 22.6% to nearly 6GB.
The surge in demand has put pressure on Airtel’s network. Overall data traffic grew 57.4%, pushing the company to speed up its infrastructure rollout. In just six months, Airtel added: 176 new 4G sites, 1,793 kilometers of fiber and 150 new 5G sites.
This investment is clearly paying off. As of mid-2025, 86.9% of all traffic now runs on 4G, up from 80.4% a year earlier. The numbers suggest Ugandans aren’t just going online—they’re demanding speed, quality, and a seamless digital experience.
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) reinforces this narrative. Its Q2 2025 market report shows: 16.5 million mobile internet subscriptions and 17.6 million smartphone users
Social media is at the heart of this growth. WhatsApp leads with 9.2 million users, followed by: TikTok – 8.8 million, YouTube – 6.1 million, X (formerly Twitter) – 1.1 million.
Incredibly, TikTok alone accounts for 56% of total data usage, with WhatsApp at 24% and YouTube at 13%.
The shift is also being driven by rising smartphone access. Smartphone penetration on Airtel’s network has reached 39.9%, fueled by device financing programs like Airtel Badili, Mogo, and other partnerships aimed at making smartphones more affordable.
Meanwhile, the MyAirtel app is quietly emerging as a powerful digital hub, boasting 1.25 million monthly active users. More customers now prefer managing their accounts via self-service platforms rather than queuing at physical service centers.
Uganda is rapidly transitioning into a data-first economy. Whether it’s entertainment, education, e-commerce, or rural learning, data is becoming the backbone of daily life.
If this trend continues, Airtel’s data business may not just be a major revenue stream, it could soon become the defining pillar of the company’s entire business model.
