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Mozambique communication sector

Mozambique's Communication Sector in 2025

Overview of the Communication Sector

Since the telecom reforms in the early 2000s opened the market to competition, Mozambique's communication sector has experienced notable growth. By 2025, mobile subscriptions have surged to approximately 17.7 million, covering 50.4% of the population of 35.1 million, with 88.4% of these connections being broadband through 3G, 4G, or even 5G technologies. However, internet penetration remains low, with only 19.8% of the population (about 6.96 million) using the internet, while social media engagement is similarly limited, with users making up 10.5% of the total population.

A significant portion of the population, approximately 33%, lives in rural areas lacking mobile broadband access, and about 60.4% reside in regions struggling with inadequate infrastructure. Various factors contribute to these challenges, such as high device costs, a literacy rate of 48%, and limited access to electricity, all of which hinder connectivity, particularly in rural areas.

The government is taking steps to improve the communication environment through initiatives like the National Cybersecurity Strategy, which encompasses 25 projects aimed for completion by 2025, and a $150 million grant from the World Bank for the Digital Governance and Economy Project (EDGE). These efforts are geared toward enhancing connectivity and bolstering e-governance capabilities.

The sector is regulated by the Instituto Nacional das Comunicações de Moçambique (INCM), which oversees spectrum management, licensing, and competition under the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

Key Players in 2025

The communication sector is dominated by three vertically integrated mobile operators, with additional contributions from fixed-line providers, satellite broadband firms, and innovative decentralized network providers. Below are the key players, their market roles, and contributions to coverage.

1. Vodacom Mozambique

  • Overview: A subsidiary of South Africa's Vodacom Group, Vodacom is the market leader with ~50% market share in mobile subscriptions.

  • Services: Offers mobile voice, 3G/4G broadband, and M-Pesa (mobile money), with 8.6 million subscribers and 5.9 million M-Pesa users as of 2023.

  • Coverage: Strong in urban areas (e.g., Maputo, Beira, Nampula), with efforts to expand rural coverage through partnerships like the 2020 Loon project (4G balloons in Cabo Delgado and Niassa).

  • Innovations: Invests in 4G expansion and mobile financial services, leveraging M-Pesa to improve financial inclusion (30% of Mozambicans had bank accounts in 2021).

  • Challenges: High data costs in northern regions and reliance on urban markets limit rural penetration.

2. Movitel

  • Overview: A joint venture between Vietnam's Viettel Group and Mozambique's ruling party Frelimo, Movitel has aggressively expanded since its 2020 launch.

  • Services: Provides mobile voice, 3G/4G broadband, and data services, with a focus on rural areas.

  • Coverage: Notable for rolling out 3G-based voice and broadband in rural regions, unlike competitors who prioritize urban centers. Operates extensively in underserved provinces like Zambezia and Niassa.

  • Innovations: Emphasizes rural connectivity, reducing the urban-rural divide, and competes on affordability.

  • Challenges: Limited brand recognition compared to Vodacom and potential political ties to Frelimo may raise governance concerns.

3. Tmcel (Mozambique Telecom)

  • Overview: Formed in 2019 by merging Telecomunicações de Moçambique (TDM) and mCel, Tmcel is the state-owned operator. It's the only provider of integrated fixed-line services.

  • Services: Offers mobile voice, 3G/4G broadband, fixed-line telephony, and ADSL internet. Fixed broadband subscriptions were 19,753 in 2012, with minimal growth since.

  • Coverage: Strong urban presence (e.g., Maputo, Beira), but fixed-line penetration is low (<2% of households). Mobile coverage lags behind Vodacom and Movitel.

  • Innovations: Partnered with Huawei for a $23 million equipment deal and railway communication systems (FRMCS for 5G transition by 2030).

  • Challenges: Poor management, high operating costs, and underperformance have led to state intervention and a search for strategic partners.

4. World Mobile

  • Overview: A U.S.-based firm pioneering decentralized mobile networks, World Mobile launched its first commercial aerostat in Massingir, Gaza, in 2023.

  • Services: Uses aerostats (tethered balloons) to deliver mobile broadband, powered by blockchain for community ownership and profit-sharing.

  • Coverage: Focuses on rural and underserved areas, targeting the 75% of unconnected Mozambicans (23% internet use in 2022). Plans to scale across provinces like Zambezia and Cabo Delgado.

  • Innovations: Decentralized model allows communities to operate nodes, fostering economic participation. Aerostats overcome terrain challenges, offering scalable connectivity.

  • Challenges: Early-stage deployment with limited scale and reliance on data validation for commercial rollouts.

5. Starlink (SpaceX)

  • Overview: A global satellite broadband provider, Starlink began operations in Mozambique in 2023, offering high-speed internet.

  • Services: Provides satellite-based internet with speeds up to 250 Mbps, targeting rural and remote areas.

  • Coverage: Expands coverage in rural provinces (e.g., Niassa, Tete), reducing dependency on urban infrastructure. Dropped market prices upon entry.

  • Innovations: Leverages low-earth-orbit satellites for low-latency connectivity, competing with traditional operators on affordability.

  • Challenges: High upfront costs for equipment (~$599) limit adoption among low-income rural households.

Decentralized Coverage in Mozambique by 2025

Decentralized coverage—focused on extending connectivity to rural, underserved, and remote areas—is a critical issue in Mozambique due to a stark urban-rural divide. Approximately 60.4% of Mozambicans reside in rural regions, with 33% lacking access to mobile broadband signals. This analysis explores the current state of decentralized coverage, key initiatives in place, and their impact on improving connectivity.

Current State of Decentralized Coverage

While urban centers like Maputo, Beira, and Nampula City benefit from robust cellular coverage and fiber optic networks, rural areas in provinces like Niassa, Zambezia, and Cabo Delgado remain underserved. Approximately 30% of the population has access to 3G services, with most users concentrated in urban locales, leaving rural communities reliant on 2G networks or entirely without coverage.

The situation concerning internet accessibility is particularly concerning: only 21% of rural households utilize mobile networks for internet connectivity. Barriers such as high device costs and limited access to electricity exacerbate the challenges faced by these communities. Additionally, ongoing conflict in Cabo Delgado has further complicated matters; the insurgency, which has persisted from 2017 to 2025, has resulted in significant infrastructure damage and displaced around 580,000 individuals, severely hindering rural connectivity efforts.

As a result, data costs are notably higher in northern provinces due to elevated transit fees incurred from Maputo, which consequently discourages rural adoption of mobile services.

Key Initiatives for Improving Decentralized Coverage

Several initiatives have emerged to tackle the challenges of decentralized coverage, each with varying degrees of impact. Movitel, for example, has aggressively rolled out 3G networks in rural areas, including Zambezia and Niassa. This effort has significantly increased coverage, providing voice and broadband access in places where competitors Vodacom and Tmcel are absent. While this progress has helped reduce the connectivity gap, limited scale and affordability challenges continue to hinder widespread adoption.

Another innovative approach comes from World Mobile, which launched aerostats in Massingir (Gaza) in 2023 to provide decentralized broadband through blockchain-based community networks. Plans to expand this service to other provinces aim to connect the 75% of unconnected Mozambicans. This initiative empowers local economies through profit-sharing arrangements and addresses terrain challenges, although scaling up remains a hurdle.

Additionally, Starlink's entry into the market in 2023 has brought high-speed internet access to rural provinces like Niassa and Tete, resulting in reduced market prices for internet services. OneWeb has complemented these efforts by supporting satellite broadband, effectively improving rural access despite the high costs of equipment that limit broader adoption.

Further contributing to connectivity improvements, Vanu, Inc. deployed new mobile towers in rural areas in 2025 in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional das Comunicações de Moçambique (INCM) and other partners. While this initiative has led to incremental gains in coverage, it has primarily focused on specific communities rather than offering province-wide solutions.

Government initiatives also play a crucial role in enhancing connectivity. The $150 million Digital Governance and Economy Project (EDGE) from the World Bank aims to establish digital villages in rural areas, improving ICT access alongside policy reforms designed to attract private investment. Furthermore, Land2Africa's submarine cables in Maputo and Nacala are expected to reduce bandwidth costs, which may indirectly aid rural connectivity efforts, although implementation tends to lag in remote regions like Niassa.

Historically, there have been efforts to improve connectivity, such as Vodacom's 2020 partnership with Alphabet's Loon, which utilized balloons to deliver 4G services in Cabo Delgado and Niassa. However, these temporary gains were ultimately discontinued following Loon's closure.