Public | |
Industry | Telecommunications |
Predecessors |
Zain Tanzania Celtel Tanzania |
Founded | 08 June 2010 |
Headquarters | Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania |
Area served
|
Tanzania |
Products |
GSM-related products Internet services |
Parent | Airtel Africa |
Website | africa.airtel.com/Tanzania |
Airtel Tanzania Limited is the largest telecommunications company in Tanzania by coverage area and the second-largest telecommunications company in Tanzania after Vodacom Tanzania based on total wireless customers, with about 1.7 million users (26 percent market share) by August 2007.
The company is the part of Airtel Africa, the pan African mobile network operator and the largest mobile service provider in Africa outside of South Africa. Airtel Tanzania is the pioneer and part of the "One Network", the world's first borderless network across East Africa.
Airtel Tanzania was the first telecom company to launch General Packet Radio Service/Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (GPRS/EDGE) service in Tanzanian Market on April 3, 2006. Celtel Tanzania has its headquarters in Celtel House, Dar Es Salaam. On August 1, 2008, Celtel rebranded all of its African operations under the Zain name.
Airtel Tanzania was the result of partial privatization of TTCL on February 23, 2001. This was one of the first steps towards full liberalization of the market. In the aftermath, Celtel International, at that time MSI, which has its headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands, together with Detecon from Germany, obtained 35% shares from the Government of Tanzania. Thus, the consortium (Celtel International and Detecon ) took over Board and Management control of TTCL and thus made it essentially an autonomous company. Celtel is currently owned by sub group originating from UAE.
Celtel Tanzania was licensed as the mobile operator in the country in November 2001. The license was the result of Tanzania Communications Commission ( TCC ) to decide and to change its zonal licenses into national licenses in 1998. The changes was because the numbers of subscribers in the country was very low (i.e. a total of 37,940 in 1998) and operators were concentrating on a few zones only (i.e. the coastal area near Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar).