By Our Reporter
Airtel Uganda recently announced that their 4G LTE network is finally available countrywide. This after they made heavy investment in modernisation of their network, with the telco now boasting of 1,632 sites and over 3,900 kilometers of fiber across Uganda covering 96% of the population.
Following the announcement, the guys at TechJaja took a tour to Northern Uganda and Eastern Uganda to verify Airtel’s assertions about 4G countrywide coverage. The expedition which started in Kampala took them on a tour through Luwero, Nakasongola, Kigumba, Bweyala, Kamdini, Dokolo, Soroti, Mbale, Jinja and then back to Kampala.
They first tested the speeds in Kampala, which they then used as the base to make a comparison with the speeds in the other areas they visited.
“Enroute to the North, through Luwero, Nakasongola, Masindi, and Karuma towns, there was a significant fluctuation in the speeds offered,” they noted in their findings. “In the trading centres and closely touched housing, the network was between 4G and 3G+. However, in the semi-arid Nakasongola and the deserted Masindi, the network was low to the last bar. The same applied for the other villages we went through that had no structures in place for livelihood.”
The Verdict:
While Airtel Uganda’s 4G network is available upcountry, it is mostly experienced in the densely populated locations and the deserted areas feed on EDGE and 3G networks.