Tanzanian mobile phone subscribers jump by 16 pct in 2014

A shopper walks past a Vodacom shop in Johannesburg February 4, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko·Reuters· (Reuters)

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - The number of mobile phone subscribers in Tanzania rose by 16 percent in 2014 to 31.86 million, the telecoms regulator said, marking further growth in the communications sector already ranked as the fastest expanding in the economy. Like in other African countries, mobile phone use has rocketed in Tanzania in the past decade. Analysts see further growth in the east African nation of over 45 million people, which now has a mobile phone penetration of 67 percent. The number of Internet users rose 22 percent to 11.35 million last year from 2013, the report by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) said on Thursday. Tanzania's government granted a licence last year to Vietnam-based telecoms operator Viettel to build a 3G network in the country, and has said it plans to pas rules for the mandatory listing of shares in mobile phone operators this year. Operators include Vodacom Tanzania, a unit of South Africa's Vodacom; India's Bharti Airtel; Tigo, a unit of Sweden's Millicom International Cellular; and Zantel, part of United Arab Emirates telecoms operator Etisalat.

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