Tigo - Tanzania

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Carrier
Tigo
Country
Tanzania Flag of Tanzania View country details


Tigo (Tanzania) uses 2 GSM bands, 1 UMTS band, and 1 LTE band. Find out if your unlocked phone or mobile device will work with Tigo (Tanzania). See the tables below for details.

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Carrier website: http://www.tigo.co.tz/

Tigo Tanzania is a leading telecommunications company in Tanzania, operating under the brand name Tigo, which is part of the international company Millicom International Cellular S.A. (MIC). Here are some key points about Tigo Tanzania's mobile network:

Coverage and Services

  • Coverage: Tigo offers extensive coverage across Tanzania, including major cities like Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Zanzibar, Arusha, Mbeya, Morogoro, Tanga, Dodoma, Kigoma, Moshi, Tabora, Songea, Musoma, Iringa, Katumba, and many other regions.
  • Network Technologies: Tigo provides 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G mobile network services. The company was the first to launch 4G LTE services in Dar es Salaam in 2015 and has since expanded to other regions.
  • Mobile Money: Tigo operates a robust mobile money service called Tigo Pesa, which allows users to send and receive money across different networks, including Vodacom, Airtel, and Zantel. This service was the first fully interoperable mobile money service in Africa.

Subscribers and Employment

  • Subscriber Base: As of 2020, Tigo had over 12.6 million registered subscribers, making it one of the largest mobile network operators in Tanzania.
  • Employment: The company directly and indirectly employs over 300,000 Tanzanians, including customer service representatives, mobile money merchants, sales agents, and distributors.

Innovations and Initiatives

  • Device Financing: Tigo offers device financing options, allowing customers to purchase smartphones with free internet for a year.
  • Digital Lifestyle Brand: Tigo is recognized as a fully-fledged digital lifestyle brand, offering a diverse product portfolio including voice, SMS, high-speed internet, and mobile financial services.
  • Cross-Border Money Transfer: Tigo pioneered East Africa’s first cross-border mobile money transfer with currency conversion, allowing customers to send money between Tanzania and Rwanda.

History and Milestones

  • Establishment: Tigo started its operations in Tanzania in 1994 and was initially known as Buzz. It rebranded to Tigo in 2006 after Millicom acquired full control of the company.
  • Initial Public Offering: Tigo applied to list on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange in December 2016, but as of April 2019, it had not yet gone public.

Tigo Tanzania continues to be a major player in the country's telecommunications sector, known for its innovative services and extensive network coverage.

Frequency Bands

GSM

Name Interface Description
900 MHz (E-GSM) GSM

Tigo Tanzania uses the GSM 900 MHz (E-GSM) frequency band. This band operates in the range of 880 MHz to 960 MHz, with the uplink frequency range from 880 MHz to 915 MHz and the downlink range from 925 MHz to 960 MHz. The Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Numbers (ARFCNs) for E-GSM range from 0 to 124 and 975 to 1023.
1800 MHz (DCS) GSM

Tigo Tanzania uses the GSM 1800 MHz (DCS) frequency band. This band operates in the range of 1710 MHz to 1785 MHz for the uplink and 1805 MHz to 1880 MHz for the downlink. The Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Numbers (ARFCNs) for GSM 1800 range from 512 to 885.

UMTS

Name Interface Description
B1 (2100 MHz) UMTS

Tigo Tanzania uses the UMTS B1 (2100 MHz) frequency band. This band is widely used for 3G services and is supported by various networks. The specific deployment details for Tigo Tanzania are not provided in the sources.

LTE

Name Interface Description
B20 (800 MHz DD) LTE

Tigo Tanzania uses the LTE B20 (800 MHz DD) frequency band for its LTE network deployments. This band is particularly known for its wide area coverage and deep penetration, making it suitable for regional and rural environments, as well as in-building coverage. It supports carrier aggregation with other bands to enhance bandwidth and performance. The 800 MHz band is also popular for IoT applications like eMTC (LTE Cat M1) and NB-IoT (LTE Cat NB1) due to its wide coverage characteristics.

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