East African Business Week

KIGALI, RWANDA - Mobile Operator Tigo Rwanda lost 2,122 subscribers to rival telecoms between December 2010 and January 2011 for the first time since November 2009 when it launched operations in Rwanda.
 Rwanda telecom regulator, Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA) reports that Tigo's active subscribers (those who have carried out a commercial activity in the last 90 days) reduced from 695,072 in December 2010 to 692,950 in January 2011 translating into a 0.3% drop.
 Tigo did not however lose its position as the second largest mobile operator after MTN in terms of more users.
Meanwhile, rivals MTN Rwanda and Rwandatel registered 1.6% and 12.7% subscriber growth respectively.
MTN netted 40,711 new subscribers increasing its total subscriber base to 2,587,694 in January 2011 guarding its market share as the market leader.
 Rwandatel, the third largest mobile operator garnered 39,065 new users raising its overall active mobile subscribers to 345,771.
 The two rival telecoms benefited from promotional tariffs they launched since late last year to out compete Tigo's pricing strategy. The growth experienced on MTN and Rwandatel networks boosted overall Rwanda's mobile subscriber base raising it to over 3.6 million in January from 3.5 million in a month before.  This represents around 36% mobile penetration when a population close to 11 million people is considered.