In Rwanda, the network is there, but most people aren’t using it. A GSMA report released in Kigali on 17 September finds that 4G covers about 96% of the population and 3G nearly 99%. Yet in 2025, only 21% of Rwandans subscribed to mobile internet. In other words, nearly eight in ten people live within coverage but never go online.
« Rwanda has built a strong digital foundation, but too many people still face barriers to using it, » says Angela Wamola, Head of Africa at the global mobile operators’ association. According to the study, titled Rwanda Digital Economy, the problem is no longer the masts. It lies in what stands between the network and the user.
The price of smartphones is the first of these barriers. Since July 2025, phones have once again been subject to 18% VAT, after fifteen years of exemption. Once customs duties and excise are added, taxes make up about 35% of a device’s price. The GSMA estimates that this burden could keep some 538,000 people from subscribing by 2029. In the countryside, where incomes are lower, a phone remains a purchase that many households cannot afford.
Digital skills are another problem. For part of the rural population, using a smartphone, filling in an online form or paying a bill through an app does not come naturally. The report also highlights the shortage of content in Kinyarwanda, the language spoken by nearly all Rwandans. Without useful services in their own language, many simply see no reason to go online.
To close the gap, the GSMA puts forward several proposals. It recommends expanding credit for phone purchases and making targeted tax cuts where taxes hold back adoption. It advises offering practical training suited to rural areas and increasing the number of services in Kinyarwanda, especially in health, agriculture, finance and public administration. Finally, the report urges the government to keep connectivity affordable without placing overly heavy quality standards on operators, whose electricity costs are already high.
If these reforms go ahead, Rwanda could gain about 1.07 million more mobile internet subscribers by 2031, which is 22% more than if nothing changes. According to the GSMA, the state would benefit too. A larger user base would bring in a net fiscal gain of about 218 billion Rwandan francs a year by 2031, or nearly US$148 million.
The timeline makes these choices more urgent. Rwanda plans to switch off its 3G network on 30 June 2027 and its 2G network in December 2028. Unless smartphones become easier to get, people who use basic phones risk being left behind. The GSMA therefore recommends keeping some essential services running for them during the transition.
Kigali presents itself as a digital model for Africa. To live up to that ambition, the country now has to bring its citizens into the digital era, since the masts are already in place.