Q&A with UCC’s Irene Kaggwa Sewankambo on the competitive landscape and ensuring a sustainable telco industry for both users and investors Uganda’s information and communications industry is one of the largest contributors to GDP and as such has a knock-on impact on other sectors. It is also one of the fastest growing and most dynamic sectors. Following a number of market developments in Uganda’s telco industry over the last decade, the industry seems to have self-adjusted to a few but very powerful players. While some analysts have argued that a few large players are what is needed to keep up with the huge capital demands of the sector, there are also strong fears about the dangers of having a few too-big-to-control players. Regulating the market to ensure there is a conducive enough for everyone to flourish, as well as ensuring the end user gets affordable and quality access is the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). In this conversation, Irene Kaggwa Sewankambo the Executive Director discusses with the CEO East Africa Magazine how the regulator is managing this important and delicate role.

Muhereza KyamuteteraJune 27, 2023July 2, 2023

According to UCC’s Irene Kaggwa Sewankambo the telecommunications sector in Uganda, is one of the few sectors with consistent price drops over the years despite the increases in the cost of factor inputs such as fuel and forex depreciation. She says, on average, Uganda has enjoyed a consistent improvement in the affordability of communication services with average mobile voice and data prices dropping by more than 25% and 88% in the last 10 years.

What is the Commission’s overall take on the competitiveness landscape across the various segments of the telco industry and how is this likely to shape the development of the sector in 2023 and beyond? While the Commission continues to promote fair and competitive conduct across the communications value chain (markets), we note that some segments of the market/value chain are not as competitive as others. The differences in competitiveness at various layers of the telecommunications value chain may be attributed to differences in structural drivers such as market size as well as policy influences in the respective segments. Sometimes a…

This Is Premium Content. Subscribe And Save On Unlimited Access With Our Best Offers!