Millicom Tanzania (Tigo) has launched 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, claiming users will be able to access data speeds five times faster than those available over existing 3G networks, in a move which Tigo notes will create ‘the biggest and fastest internet network in the country.’ At launch, the new network covers the suburb of Masaki and the Mlimani City shopping mall, both within Dar es Salaam, while the operator plans full 4G coverage of the city by the end of July 2015 before extending the high speed service to the Moshi municipality, the capital Dodoma and the cities of Arusha, Morogoro, Mwanza and Tanga by end-August.
The rollout comes in the wake of Tigo’s recent announcement to invest USD120 million in expanding network coverage and improving service quality during 2015. As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, earlier this month the cellco confirmed its intention to deploy 787 new base transceiver stations (BTS) across the country.
TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database records that Tigo Tanzania launched HSPA+ 3.5G services in May 2013, with a dual-carrier HSPA+ (DC-HSPA+) upgrade following in selected cities later that year, and the cellco advertises peak download ‘4G capable’ speeds of 42Mbps over the DC-HSPA+ network.
