Uganda Telecom Limited
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Uganda Telecommunications Corporation Limited (UTCL), also (UTel), is an information and communication technology network company in
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
owned by the government of Uganda. UTel acquired the assets and some of the liabilities of the defunct ''Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL)'' which was also owned by the Ugandan government. UTL was previously in receivership which it entered after the Libyan company that owned about 69 percent shares abandoned the investment in 2017.


History

Following the Ugandan Parliament's passage of the Communications Act in 1997, the Ugandan
parastatal A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...
Uganda Posts and Telecommunications Company Limited (UPTCL) was divided into four entities: *
Uganda Communications Commission The Uganda Communications Commission ''(UCC)'' is the government regulatory body of the communications sector in Uganda. Although owned by the Ugandan government, it acts independently. Its mandated responsibilities include licensing, regulatio ...
- the communications industry regulator * Uganda Post Limited - also known as
Posta Uganda Posta Uganda (Luganda for Uganda Post) originally named Uganda Post Limited, is the company solely responsible for mail, postal service in Uganda.
*
PostBank Uganda PostBank Uganda is a commercial bank in Uganda, licensed and supervised by the Bank of Uganda, the country's central bank and national banking regulator. The bank received her tier-1 banking license in December 2021. Before that, PostBank Ug ...
- a government-owned financial institution * Uganda Telecom - an information technology and communication network company In June 2000, UTL was privatized when the government divested 51 percent of its shares to Ucom, a consortium formed by Detecon of Germany, Telecel International of Switzerland, and Orascom Telecom Holding of Egypt. The Ugandan government retained 49 percent ownership in UTL.


Scope of service

UTeL is a leading total communications provider with a broad range of services in Uganda, including: * Fixed voice (copper, CDMA, fixed
GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a family of standards to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks, as used by mobile devices such as mobile phones and Mobile broadband modem, mobile broadba ...
) * Mobile voice and data * Dedicated circuits for data and internet (
xDSL Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric dig ...
,
FTTx Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber optic ...
, leased lines) * Broadband services ( 3G,
WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options. The WiMA ...
, xDSL, FTTx, CDMA,
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
) * Data centre services (hosting/housing/backup/failover) In February 2009, UTL launched an unstructured supplementary service data-based mobile wallet service called "M-SENTE", using software purchased from Redknee Solutions Inc., a Canadian information technology company. In September 2009, UTL became the first Ugandan provider to introduce the solar powered hand-held mobile phone, locally called "Kasana". In July 2011, UTL estimated their own market share of the Ugandan telecommunication industry at about 10 percent.


Seizure and release of assets

In March 2011, the Ugandan government seized Lap Green's 69 percent shareholding in UTL as part of sanctions against the regime of
Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...
. After the end of the Libyan civil war in May 2012, the shareholding was returned to Lap Green, ending a period of considerable uncertainty for the carrier. Since then, UTL underwent major restructuring to revive its fortunes.


Ownership

As of October 2018, UTL was a joint venture between Taleology Holdings GIB Limited, a private company based in Nigeria, which owned 67 percent of the company, and the Ugandan government, which owned the remaining 33 percent. Following the rebrand, starting in February 2022, the ownership structure of Uganda Telecommunications Corporation Limited is as depicted in the table below.


Leadership structure

Stephen Kaboyo was the chairman of the board of directors in 2014. The managing director was Mark Shoebridge, who was appointed temporarily on 21 May 2015 as he was leaving the company from his role as chief fixed services officer to lead operations in Vodacom Nigeria. He was re-appointed effective 8 February 2016 upon his return to Uganda to drive the turnaround of the struggling operator. After the rebrand, effective November 2022, the company chairman is Dr. Grace Ssekakubo and Ramadan Ggobi, Dr. Aminah Zawedde, Tom Sekatwe, Jimmy Adiga, Maximelia Byenkya and Agnes Ojiambo as Directors of the company COO is Margaret Lutwama Mukiibi.


Parliamentary investigation

In November 2016, the parliament of Uganda set up a select committee to investigate alleged mismanagement at Uganda Telecom, including the allegation that UGX:1.5 billion was missing from petty cash through theft from long term staff in the finance department over a period of many years. Many of the finance department staff involved have been dismissed, terminated, or have resigned since this fraud was uncovered in 2016 through audits conducted by the new management. The committee's report was expected within two months.


Insolvency and Receivership

In February 2017, UCom, the
government of Libya Muammar Gaddafi bequeths a "Shallow State" The politics of Libya has been shaped by the "shallow state" ceded by former authoritarian leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was overthrown in 2011 in the midst of the Arab revolutions; apart from being ...
-owned subsidiary unilaterally pulled out of the struggling company, forcing the Uganda government to assume sole total control. In April the same year, the Uganda government placed the telco under receivership. In December 2017, Uganda announced plans to sell a majority stake in the troubled company. Nearly a dozen investors from Europe, China, South Africa and the USA expressed interest in acquiring a stake in UTL. In July 2018,
The EastAfrican ''The EastAfrican'' is a weekly newspaper published in Kenya since 7 November 1994, by the Nation Media Group, which also publishes Kenya's national ''Daily Nation''. The ''EastAfrican'' also circulates in the other countries of the African Grea ...
reported that of the investors who submitted purchase bids,
Mauritius Telecom Mauritius Telecom (MT) is a telecommunications company in Mauritius, a small republic in the Indian Ocean. The company had about 392,000 fixed line customers, 969,000 mobile customers, 404,000 fibre-ready homes, 178,000 IPTV customers, and 255,000 ...
emerged as the only capable, credible, legitimate bidder, with a bid of $45 million upfront, and another $100 million over the next 36 months, for a 69-31 majority shareholding. Discussions were ongoing to close the acquisition. The Uganda Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), successfully vetted the potential investor. In a cabinet meeting convened on Monday 1 October 2018 and chaired by President
Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...
, Taleology Holdings GIB Limited of
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, was selected to operate UTL for the next 20 years. The deal included UTL's total assets, valued at USh148 billion (US$39.5 million), tax waivers, an extended frequency and Uganda's national backbone optic fibre infrastructure. In exchange, Taleology would make a non refundable US$7.1 million (USh27 billion), at signature of the paperwork and another US$63.9 million (USh240 billion) no later than 60 days from that date, otherwise they forfeit the concession. When, in February 2019, Taleology failed to remit the required funding to effect the acquisition, UTL went back on the market and a new buyer was being sought. On 2 January 2020, Justice Lydia Mugambe of the Civil Division of the High Court of Uganda, appointed Ruth Sebatindira as the Administrator of Uganda Telecom Limited, under a court-appointed
receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...
since April 2017. Sebatindira took over the administration of UTL from Bemanya Twebaze on 6 January 2020.


Company rebrand

Following the exit of Libya's ''LAP Green'' in 2017 and the unsuccessful attempted sale to Nigeria's ''Taleology Holdings'' in 2019, the Uganda government decided to nationalize the insolvent (bankrupt) UTL. In April 2021, the government of Uganda incorporated Uganda Telecommunications Corporation Limited (UTCL), also referred to UTel. In February 2022, UTel signed a sale and purchase agreement with the insolvent UTL to acquire all UTL's assets and some of their liabilities for a total consideration of USh256.9 billion (approx. US$65.7 million), to be paid over 16 months, with the last installment due in June 2023. This is in addition to the US$15.6 million debt owed to
Trade and Development Bank The Trade and Development Bank (TDB), formerly the PTA Bank, is a trade and development financial institution operating in eastern and southern Africa. TDB is the financial arm of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), al ...
that the government had settled in 2020 on behalf of UTL. This brought the total price to US$81.3 million (approx. USh316 billon). The assets acquired include UTL's 2G, 3G and 4G frequency spectrum awarded by
Uganda Communications Commission The Uganda Communications Commission ''(UCC)'' is the government regulatory body of the communications sector in Uganda. Although owned by the Ugandan government, it acts independently. Its mandated responsibilities include licensing, regulatio ...
, the national industry regulator. In November 2022, the then UTL receivership administrator, Ruth Sebatindira, handed over the company assets to the new shareholders represented by the State Minister of Finance for Investments, Evelyn Anite. Other assets exchanged included land, buildings, and internet transmission network including underground and overhead cables, as well as communication towers. With the transfer of assets, UTL ceased to exist.


Developments

In October 2024, the
government of Uganda The politics of Uganda occurs in an Authoritarianism, authoritarian context. Since assuming office in 1986 at the end of the Ugandan Bush War, Ugandan civil war, Yoweri Museveni has ruled Uganda as an Autocracy, autocrat. Political party, Politi ...
signed binding agreements with ''Rowad Capital Commercial'' (RCC), an investment company based in
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
, the United Arab Emirates, whereby RCC acquires 60 percent in UTel.


See also

*
MTN Uganda MTN Uganda is the largest telecom company in Uganda, with 11.2 million subscribers, accounting for 55 percent market share, as of 30 June 2017. By 31 December 2019, its customer base had increased to 12.6 million customers. In March 2021, the Uga ...
* Airtel Uganda *
List of mobile network operators in Uganda This is a list of mobile network operators in Uganda: * MTN Uganda * Airtel Uganda *Talkio Mobile * UTel * Hamilton Telecom * Lycamobile Uganda * Roke Telkom Uganda Note: K2 Telecom operates as a component of Airtel Uganda. Customer base ...


References


External links


Company Homepage

Tanzania, Uganda in internet sharing deal
As of 15 August 2023. {{Kampala District Mobile phone companies of Uganda Telecommunications companies of Uganda Companies based in Kampala Telecommunications companies established in 2000 2000 establishments in Uganda Ugandan brands