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Phone call time per user falls to monthly average of 174 minutes
UCC says there has been a reduction in phone call time due to an increase in usage of voice over internet protocols. Photo / Edgar R Batte
What you need to know:
- UCC indicates that whereas there was a drop in voice call time, internet data usage almost doubled during the period
A Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) report has indicated that mobile phone subscribers spend an average of 174 minutes of talk time per month.
However, this is a drop from 189 minutes reported at the end of 2021, which UCC said could be a result of rising usage of voice over internet protocol.
Voice over internet protocols allow mobile phone users to make calls using broadband connection on social networks such as WhatsApp.
“Despite the growth in overall traffic volumes on an increasing subscriber base, the average usage per subscriber declined … due to [voice over internet protocol] calling options,” the Market Performance Report, released last week reads in part.
Ms Irene Kaggwa, the UCC acting executive director, at the weekend told Monitor, the 174 minutes is what an average mobile phone subscriber used in a single month between October and December 2022.
The report also indicated that whereas call time is still priced in per minute call termination, majority of subscribers have shifted to tariff packages that offer voice bundles.
For instance, during the period, telecoms offered 250 minutes at Shs10,000 running for a month, while others offered 90 and 40 minutes at Shs5,000 and 2,500, respectively.
The packages are offered across networks since UCC, about two years ago, harmonised telecom sector tariff structures by establishing a single pricing model for all operators.
The unit cost of mobile phone call time has been reducing over the years, dropping to a market average of Shs4 per second.
Previously a minute of call time was as high as Shs450 but had dropped to an average of Shs280, before telecoms introduced per second billing in the mid-2000s.
Uganda currently has 33.1 million Simcards shared among three networks including MTN, Airtel and Uganda Telecom, which during the period the quarter ended December 2022, grossed 17.1b minutes worth of call time, an increase of 336m minutes in the previous quarter. The report also noted that of the 17.1b minutes, 16.9b were on-net traffic, while 172m were off-net.
The high on-net traffic could be explained by increased usage of locked in voice bundles that are only able to make calls within the network.
However, telecoms have recently introduced voice bundle packages that calls outside their own networks.
During the period, the report noted, at least 20m minutes of international traffic were terminated into local networks compared to 9.8m minutes that exited Uganda.
This, the report said indicates that Uganda continues to be a receiver of international traffic.
UCC also reported a high growth in internet usage, with mobile data doubling to 421.5m gigabytes from 217m gigabytes while fixed internet traffic grew to 30m gigabytes from 14.1m.
Data has become a key revenue earner, covering up losses incurred due to reduction in voice expenditure.
Telecoms have been recording a decrease in voice revenues but have shown optimism due to a rise in income among alternative revenue streams, among which include data, mobile money and Fintechs.
