Vodacom commands a slight lead in median download speed in Tanzania with the provider enjoying a higher 5G Availability than Airtel, its closest competitor.
According to the latest Ookla speed test report, Vodacom has the highest penetration as far as the fifth Generation Data network in Tanzania is concerned, topping the country’s download speed, compared to other vendors.
Tanzania is a high-growth market with 91.7 million active mobile subscribers as of June 2025 (excluding M2M), according to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).
Of these, 53.8 million are active mobile data subscribers. Vodacom controls nearly one-third of mobile subscribers (32.1 percent), followed by Yas (formerly Tigo) with 28.1 percent.
Airtel is the third largest operator, commanding a 22.4 percent market share.
Vodacom’s 4G population coverage reached 72.5 percent in 2025.
It acquired Smile Communications in early 2024 for around USD 28.18 million, giving it access to essential spectrum resources (20MHz of 800MHz and 20MHz of 2600MHz bands), and enabling it to expand its 4G coverage and accelerate the rollout of 5G technology.
On the other hand, Airtel Tanzania has actively engaged in government tenders through the Universal Communications Service Access Fund (UCSAF).
As a result of these efforts, 81 percent of the total population in Tanzania is covered by Airtel’s 4G network.
4G is the most popular technology to access the internet as it is used by nearly 24 million users.
According to TCRA, 4G population coverage reached 92 percent in June 2025, supported by 13,736 base stations.
On the other hand, 5G remains a niche service as coverage reached 26 percent, provided by 1,038 base stations. 5G is used by 1.3 million mobile subscribers, representing 2.4 percent of the mobile data user base and 1.4 percent of total mobile subscribers.
Speedtest Intelligence data reveals that both operators have a fairly similar level of 4G Availability, but Vodacom pulls ahead in terms of 5G Availability, with 26.4 percent compared to 2.8 percent for Airtel.
This contrast in 5G Availability did not translate into a significant lead for Vodacom in network performance, as Vodacom recorded a median download speed of 21.42 Mbps for all technologies compared to Airtel’s 19.58 Mbps.
In contrast, Airtel comfortably leads in 5G with a median download and upload speeds of 130.35 Mbps and 18.7 Mbps, respectively. By comparison, Vodacom achieved a 5G median download speed of 89.09 Mbps and a median upload speed of 12.11 Mbps.
