Telecommunications in Tanzania explained

Telecommunications in Tanzania include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet available in mainland Tanzania and the semiautonomous Zanzibar archipelago.

Regulation and licensing

In 2005, mainland Tanzania, but not the semiautonomous Zanzibar archipelago, modified its licensing system for electronic communications, modelling it on the approach successfully pioneered in Malaysia in the late 1990s where traditional "vertical" licenses (the right to operate a telecom or a broadcasting network, and right to provide services on that network) are replaced by "horizontal" licenses (the right to operate telecom and broadcasting networks, with a separate license required to provide services on each network). Called the "Converged Licensing Framework (CLF)", this reform was the first of its kind put into practice on the African continent, and allows investors to concentrate on their area of expertise (i.e. network facility, network services, application services, and content services) across a larger number of previously separate sectors (i.e. telecommunications, broadcasting, Internet). This reform should, among other things, facilitate the arrival of telephone services over cable television networks, television services over telecommunications networks, and Internet services over all types of networks.[1]

Under the Converged Licensing Framework four categories of license are available:[1]

At the end of 2013 there were:

A complete list of licensed operators and contractors is available from the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) website.[2]

Radio and television

There are government restrictions on broadcasting in tribal languages.

The semiautonomous Zanzibari government controls the content of all public and private radio and television broadcasts in its islands. Even in the case of state television broadcast from the mainland, there was a delay in the feed, allowing Zanzibari censors to intervene. However, Zanzibari radio stations operate relatively independently, often reading the content of national dailies, including articles critical of the Zanzibari government.

Telephones

See also: Telephone numbers in Tanzania.

Mobile phone companiesSome of the mobile phone companies operating in Tanzania with market share as of December 2022 as published by the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority are:[6]

Internet

See also: Internet access in Tanzania.

Internet services have been available since 1995, but there was no international fiber connectivity available until 2009. Before then, connectivity to the rest of the world, including to neighboring countries, was obtained using satellite networks. The SEACOM and the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System submarine fiber cable projects were implemented in July 2009 and July 2010, respectively, and brought higher speed Internet connectivity to Tanzania with lower latency and lower cost.[13] [14] This resulted in more than an eight-fold improvement in download speeds from between 90 and 200 kbit/s in mid to late 2008 to between 1.5 and 1.8 Mbit/s in late 2009 with further improvements to between 3.6 and 4.2 Mbit/s in 2013.[15]

Internet service providers

Some of the Internet Service Providers operating in Tanzania are:[2]

Data operators

Some of the data operators in Tanzania are:[2]

Censorship and surveillance

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet; however, the government monitors websites that criticize the government. Police also monitor the Internet to combat illegal activities.[16]

Freedom of speech

The constitution provides for freedom of speech, but does not explicitly provide for freedom of the press. A permit is required for reporting on police or prison activities, and journalists need special permission to attend meetings in the Zanzibar House of Representatives. Anyone publishing information accusing a Zanzibari representative of involvement in illegal activities is liable to a fine of not less than TSh  (US$158), three years' imprisonment, or both. Nothing in the law specifies whether this penalty stands if the allegation is proven true. Media outlets often practice self-censorship to avoid conflict with the government.[16]

The law generally prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence without a search warrant, but the government does not consistently respect these prohibitions. It is widely believed that security forces monitor telephones and correspondence of some citizens and foreign residents. The actual nature and extent of this practice is unknown.[16]

Under the Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations 2018, blogs, online forums, and internet radio and television operations, must register with the government as an online content provider, and pay an annual fee. The fee is roughly equivalent to the annual income in Tanzania.[17] Online content providers may not post obscene or explicit content, hate speech, content that "causes annoyance", incites harm or crime, or threatens national security and public safety. Violators may be fined or have their licences revoked.[18] [19]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.tcra.go.tz/index.php/licensing/licensing-information "Licensing Information"
  2. http://www.tcra.go.tz/index.php/licensing/licensed-operators/ "Licensed Operators and Contractors"
  3. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/tanzania/ "Communications: Tanzania"
  4. http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/opb/sp/T-SP-E.164C-2011-PDF-E.pdf Dialing Procedures (International Prefix, National (Trunk) Prefix and National (Significant) Number) (in Accordance with ITY-T Recommendation E.164 (11/2010))
  5. http://seacom.mu/network/ "SEACOM Network"
  6. https://www.tcra.go.tz/uploads/text-editor/files/2nd%20Quarter%20Communications%20Statistics%20Report%202022-2023%20(1)_1675441316.pdf "COMMUNICATIONS STATISTICS REPORT : Quarter ending December 2022"
  7. Web site: Archived copy . 2017-07-24 . 2017-07-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170721150842/http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/statistics/2017/Individuals_Internet_2000-2016.xls . dead .
  8. Calculated using penetration rate and population data from "Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012", Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013
  9. http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Reporting/DynamicReportWizard.aspx "Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"
  10. http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Reporting/DynamicReportWizard.aspx "Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"
  11. Web site: CIPB - Allocation of IP addresses by Country. www.countryipblocks.net. 2018-08-01.
  12. Web site: National Bureau of Statistics Statistics for Development. www.nbs.go.tz. 2018-08-01.
  13. http://www.seacom.mu/knowledge-centre/faq SEACOM Knowledge Centre FAQ
  14. Web site: "EASSy Enters Commercial Service", EASSy, 5 August 2010, accessed 28 November 2014. 28 November 2014. 1 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180801183132/http://www.eassy.org/milestones.html. dead.
  15. http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=z8ii06k9csels2_#!ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=avg_download_speed&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=country&idim=country:TZ&ifdim=country&hl=en_US&dl=en_US&ind=false "Download speed graph for Tanzania, September 2008 to present"
  16. Web site: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017. www.state.gov. en-US. 2018-08-01.
  17. News: Tanzania: Bloggers to be charged $900 (average annual income) per year for right to speak. 25 April 2018. Peril of Africa. 15 April 2018. 11 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190911005116/http://perilofafrica.com/tanzania-bloggers-to-be-charged-900-annual-average-income-per-year-for-right-to-speak/. dead.
  18. Web site: Tanzania social media and blogging regulations charge to operate online. Dahir. Abdi Latif. Quartz. 10 April 2018 . en-US. 2018-04-25.
  19. Web site: THE ELECTRONIC AND POSTAL COMMUNICATIONS (ONLINE CONTENT) REGULATIONS, 2018. April 24, 2018. June 24, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190624174824/https://www.tcra.go.tz/images/documents/regulations/SUPP_GN_NO_133_16_03_2018_EPOCA_ONLINE_CONTENT_REGULATIONS_2018.pdf. dead.

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