MTN Rwanda has launched 5G services at key locations in the nation's capital, Kigali, with plans to expand the network to serve key enterprise sectors, including healthcare and education.
During a press conference, CEO Monzer Ali said the telco started its 5G launch in May 2025 at Kigali Heights, and now it has accelerated and grown to different sites.
"We have expanded to strategic locations across Gasabo, Nyarugenge, Kicukiro, and Kamonyi. This expansion demonstrates more than just technological progress; it reflects our long-term commitment to advancing Rwanda digital transformation agenda," Ali explained.
"In the next few weeks we will expand in very strategic locations, like educational centers, innovation hubs and high demand areas," he continued.
He added that 5G is a big booster for innovation and economic development, and it will play a big role in supporting the country's digital transformation goals.
MTN Rwanda to expand 5G beyond Kigali
Ali said that while MTN Rwanda has initially launched 5G across strategic sites in Kigali, its ambition stretches far beyond the capital.
"We're committed to expanding this network across the country, ensuring that all Rwandans, regardless of location, can benefit from the transformative power of 5G," he said.
Ali said 5G will be a catalyst for innovation and economic development, and more importantly, it will be a catalyst for national digital transformation.
"5G is beyond consumer Internet use; it will enable a breakthrough in industrial use cases. It will empower the startup ecosystem to deploy additional use cases that require ultra-low latency technology that 5G provides. It is also a key driver of inclusive economic growth," the CEO continued.
He added that the telco's 5G business model will prioritize industrial applications like smart agriculture, remote healthcare, and virtual education, along with residential fixed wireless access.
MTN Rwanda's network modernized
The 5G launch comes six months after the completion of MTN's network modernization initiative in collaboration with Swedish ICT company Ericsson.
Those modernization efforts enabled MTN Rwanda to deploy multi-band and multi-sector radios from Ericsson's Radio System portfolio, optimizing network operations and enhancing energy efficiency.
Furthermore, the modernization project made MTN Rwanda's network 5G-ready, shifting focus from the company prioritizing 4G.
Back in July 2023, MTN and Airtel launched 4G LTE networks; those launches came after both telcos' operating licenses were amended, allowing them to roll out 4G technology.
It's unclear how quickly 5G will be embraced in Rwanda, where many users have not even switched over to 4G yet.
According to statistics from market research company Omdia, a sister company of Connecting Africa, MTN Rwanda had over 7.6 million mobile subscribers in Rwanda at the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Omdia found that over the same period only about 15% of MTN Rwanda's users were using 4G, compared to about 79.5% using 3G and 5.5% still on 2G.
Airtel Rwanda, on the other hand, had around 4.8 million mobile subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Of those, only 15% were 4G users, with the 43.6% of subscribers still using 2G and 41.8% using 3G.
Source: https://www.connectingafrica.com/5g-networks/mtn-rwanda-launches-5g
