Uganda joined the growing list of African countries using 5G in 2023, when major telecom operators began rolling out the technology in Kampala. Since then, the rollout has expanded to other cities and regions. The two dominant telecom companies, MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda, have invested in new infrastructure to improve speeds and capacity.
Early rollout and coverage
Commercial 5G service in Uganda began in 2023 when both MTN and Airtel launched their first sites in Kampala. Initial deployments focused on the capital’s business districts and high-traffic neighborhoods.
By late 2025, Airtel’s network had reached 365 active 5G sites across the country (per CIO Africa), extending to cities including Jinja, Mbale, Masaka, Mbarara, Gulu, and Fort Portal.
Coverage is still concentrated in urban areas, though. Many rural regions depend on 4G networks, which remain the backbone of mobile internet in the country. Internet penetration itself is relatively low, reaching about 28% of the population in early 2025.
Speed performance and network benchmarks
Where 5G coverage exists, Uganda’s performance looks competitive within Africa. Data from Ookla Speedtest Intelligence shows that MTN Uganda achieved a median 5G download speed of about 235.22 Mbps, while Airtel Uganda recorded around 160.21 Mbps.
Those figures place Uganda among the stronger performers in East Africa’s early 5G deployments. MTN’s faster median results suggest a denser or more optimized network in many locations.
For everyday people, these speeds support high-definition streaming, cloud services, and online gaming. A mobile connection capable of over 200 Mbps can handle multiple connected devices, making it suitable for activities like streaming live sports or playing games on a mobile casino platform without noticeable lag.
5G reduces latency compared with 4G, which improves video calls, multiplayer gaming, and other real-time services. Businesses that rely on cloud software and remote collaboration tools benefit.
Still, those speeds only apply inside active 5G zones. Outside those areas, performance falls back to 4G levels.
Real-world experience
Actual user experience depends on several factors. Device compatibility is one. Many people still use smartphones that support only 4G networks. Upgrading to a 5G device remains a cost barrier for some users.
A phone must be within a 5G coverage area to access the faster speeds. Even inside cities, coverage can vary between neighborhoods depending on how many towers there are.
Telecom operators have also started offering fixed wireless solutions that use 5G routers for home broadband (Airtel’s 5G home broadband can connect up to 64 devices, for example). These packages provide internet speeds comparable to entry-level fiber connections in some areas. This helps households and small businesses access faster internet without waiting for fiber infrastructure to reach their location.
Performance consistency is a challenge when many people connect to the same cell tower. As more devices move onto the network, operators will need to keep expanding capacity to maintain high speeds.
Infrastructure and collaboration
Building a 5G network requires significant investment: towers, fiber backhaul, spectrum licenses, and energy costs.
Operators have explored collaboration to manage those costs. Last year, MTN and Airtel agreed to share parts of their telecom infrastructure in Uganda and other African markets. The goal is to reduce duplication of expensive network assets and extend coverage more efficiently.
Infrastructure sharing can speed up expansion, especially in areas where building separate networks for each operator may not be economically viable. It can also improve overall coverage by allowing both companies to use shared towers and fiber connections.
Potential
Speed tests show that Uganda’s infrastructure can deliver high download rates and low latency where coverage exists. The bigger challenge lies in scale. Limited coverage, device costs, and relatively low internet penetration mean the technology has not yet reached most of the population.
That situation is typical for early-stage 5G markets. Networks usually start in busy urban areas before expanding outward. Over the next few years, further tower deployments, spectrum use, and infrastructure sharing could extend coverage to more towns and suburbs.
