Mozambique has set a deadline to bring 5G services to all provinces — at minimum to their capital cities. The target forms part of a broader package that includes expanding 4G coverage to rural areas, connecting public institutions, and distributing 700,000 subsidised smartphones.
Tmcel, Vodacom Mozambique and Movitel have received spectrum licences — radio frequencies allocated for telecommunications use — from the Instituto Nacional das Comunicações de Moçambique (INCM) to deploy 5G networks and strengthen existing 4G infrastructure. Beyond the provincial capitals, the rollout is expected to cover urban centres, industrial zones, economic hubs, densely populated areas, and strategic tourist destinations. In a subsequent phase, the regulator envisages extending coverage to border zones, rural areas, and other localities relevant to territorial integration.
The operators have also made commitments to expand their 4G networks, in an effort to narrow the digital access gap between major urban centres and the rest of the country.
The licence, however, is only the starting point. Building a next-generation network requires radio base stations, fibre optic cables, transmission systems, power supply, equipment, and ongoing maintenance. In cities, a higher concentration of users allows costs to be spread across a larger subscriber base. In rural regions, where populations are dispersed and consumption lower, the return on investment is far less certain, according to Mahomed Yassin, Technical Centre Director at Movitel. For the operator, public policy will need to balance ‘financial value with development commitments.’ This balance will have a direct bearing on the prices paid by consumers. If operators bear the costs alone, pressure on their finances — and potentially on tariffs — increases. If expansion concentrates only where rapid returns are available, parts of the country will remain digitally excluded.
The 5G challenge in Mozambique extends well beyond the provincial capitals: it demands robust infrastructure, affordable devices, sustainable investment, and digital inclusion policies.
Where basic services are absent
Roberto Guirruta, a representative of Tmcel, sounded a clear warning: there are locations without electricity, without adequate road access, and without the conditions necessary to install fibre optic cables or microwave links — the technology used to connect antenna sites to national and global networks. ‘The operator has to pay for the spectrum, has to invest in its network infrastructure, and in some of these locations, there is no supporting infrastructure,’ he said.
Satellite connectivity may offer an alternative for remote areas, but it also carries high bandwidth costs. A nationwide rollout may therefore require investment incentives, tower-sharing arrangements, shared transmission networks, alternative energy systems, and complementary satellite solutions. Without such coordination, 5G risks advancing in provincial capitals, industrial zones, and economic poles while localities lacking electricity and other basic services remain outside the digital economy.
The expansion will be accompanied by the distribution of 700,000 subsidised smartphones. The World Bank is supporting a government-led programme that is expected to begin with US$5 million in funding and could grow to US$25 million. The financing will be directed towards microcredit schemes and pay-as-you-go models, designed to reach households that cannot afford to purchase a handset outright, have only informal incomes, lack collateral, and have no credit history.
An invisible but decisive resource
The radio spectrum is the range of frequencies used to transmit wireless signals. It is through these state-licensed frequencies that mobile networks — including 4G and 5G — operate. Because spectrum is a finite resource, the way it is allocated directly influences coverage, competition, investment levels, and service quality.
Tmcel has advocated for greater flexibility in the use of spectrum bands. Sharing frequencies in areas where they are underutilised is put forward as a means of reducing idle capacity and making better use of this resource, particularly in areas where maintaining separate networks is economically unviable.
The strategy is also beginning to take shape at a Southern African regional level. Mozambique and Angola are planning to connect Nacala and Lobito via an undersea cable. The project could increase international internet capacity, create alternative routing for data traffic, and contribute to cost reductions. It could also position Mozambique as a regional digital corridor, linking the Indian Ocean coast to the Atlantic.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=529790
