KAMPALA, Uganda — Despite being fully installed and ready to facilitate communication, at least 780 telecom towers across Uganda are currently sitting idle, a stark symbol of the country’s struggling digital infrastructure.
The Uganda Communications Commission revealed the figures in its Annual Communications Sector Report 2024, released Dec. 12. The report paints a concerning picture of a nation where infrastructure exists but remains dark because it cannot be connected to a reliable power source.
With only 25% of the country linked to the national hydroelectric grid, these 780 towers have become multi-million-dollar monuments to a widening digital divide. The UCC warned that this failure to power existing infrastructure is directly undermining efforts to bring essential communication services to rural and underserved communities.
The situation has created a financial drain on the industry. Telecom operators are forced to spend $60 million annually on expensive stop-gap measures, such as diesel generators and solar systems, just to keep other parts of the network alive. According to the commission, the cost of equipping a single tower with necessary transformers and backup power can reach as high as $270,000.
Beyond the power crisis, the report identifies a suite of regulatory and economic hurdles that keep these towers from coming online. High import taxes on galvanized steel and steep upfront rental fees for environmentally sensitive areas make it nearly impossible for operators to justify the costs in low-income regions.
As a result, connectivity remains trapped in urban hubs. While the Central region hosts 44% of the nation’s towers, millions of Ugandans in the remaining 12 sub-regions are being left behind, disconnected from the digital economy by a lack of basic power.
