Airtel Uganda’s latest financial results show Ugandans are choosing data over voice calls, transforming the telecom industry.
In its half-year results for the period ending June 30, 2025, Airtel reported a 30.4% rise in data revenue to Ushs 525.7 billion, nearly half of all service revenues. A few years ago, voice calls were the telco’s main source of income. Today, they have taken a back seat to data bundles.
This shift shows in both new customer numbers and data use by existing users. Airtel’s data subscribers grew by 25.9% to 7.5 million, while average use per user rose 22.6% to nearly 6GB per month.
The network is under pressure. Overall traffic jumped 57.4%, pushing Airtel to speed up infrastructure rollout. In the past six months, the company has added 176 new 4G sites, rolled out 1,793km of fibre, and installed 150 extra 5G sites to meet demand.
One key figure: 86.9% of all traffic now runs on 4G, up from 80.4% a year ago. This shows Ugandans want not just to be online but also quality, speed, and a smooth digital experience.
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) confirms this. Its Q2 2025 market report shows 16.5 million mobile internet subscriptions, close to the country’s 17.6 million smartphone users. Data use keeps rising, while airtime purchases fall. Social media dominates online activity, with WhatsApp leading at 9.2 million users, TikTok at 8.8 million, YouTube at 6.1 million, and X (formerly Twitter) at 1.1 million. TikTok alone takes 56% of total data use, followed by WhatsApp at 24% and YouTube at 13%.
There is also a social angle. Smartphone penetration on Airtel’s network has reached 39.9%, helped by device financing programmes like Airtel Badili, Mogo, and other partnerships that make smartphones easier to buy.
Meanwhile, the MyAirtel app has grown into a digital hub, with 1.25 million monthly active users. This shows customers prefer managing accounts through self-service rather than queuing at service centres.
The big picture: Uganda is fast becoming a data-first economy. From entertainment and education to small businesses on WhatsApp and rural learners accessing online resources, the impact is clear.
If the trend continues, Airtel’s data business will not just drive revenue but could become the company’s defining pillar.