Africa’s Urban-Rural Digital Gaps are Closing in
A mix of state programmes and private capital is bolstering plans to bridge the digital divide in African countries. Tower builds and satellite launches are closing rural gaps while reinforcing national digital networks.
Bonface Orucho, bird story agency
Senegal has announced plans to build 774 new telecom sites, part of a broader US$115 million digital push to connect 1,540 towns by 2029. According to findings from the Digital Economy Acceleration Project (PAENS), the rollout targets long-standing blackspots across four zones: the Groundnut Basin, Casamance, the southeast, and the northwest.
“The study highlighted a persistent digital divide: 24% of localities have no network, 37% experience frequent signal loss, and only 52% have 4G coverage,” a government workshop report stated. “These deficiencies also affect social infrastructure, schools and health centers located in remote areas of the country, thus hampering access to essential services.”
Planned as a mix of new and upgraded sites, the 774 installations aim to close gaps for more than 436,000 people, especially in rural communities where schools and clinics remain unconnected. Zambia is moving at a faster pace with a market-driven sprint. Airtel and tower company IHS have already activated dozens of towers and are promising more than 150 live sites before the year ends. So far, 38 towers are already standing. Another dozen are due to go live before September ends. Airtel has committed US$14 million to the rollout, capital that can be mobilised quickly without waiting for budget cycles or donor support. The Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) is also building. The regulator has already switched on 43 rural towers and plans to add 80 more in the final quarter of 2025, fitted with hybrid systems to stay online round the clock. These rollouts capture a bigger trend in 2025. African states are leaning on public universal access funds while operators and tower companies accelerate builds through private capital.
“The question is not just how many towers go up, but how long they stay operational,” explained Robert Kirong, an ICT lecturer at Masinde Muliro University in Kenya. “Rural sites are often at risk from theft, vandalism or maintenance neglect. Without budgets for spare parts and security, investments can degrade quickly.”
Earlier this year, the government of Zimbabwe announced a plan to set up digital hubs in Bikita and Mhondoro-Ngezi districts, in partnership with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. The hubs will operate as one-stop shops to enable the residents of these rural districts to access digital tools and services, such as artificial intelligence, mobile apps, and financial services, which could improve their agricultural production output. It’s part of a larger initiative to improve efficiency in Zimbabwe’s agri-food systems by leveraging digital innovation.
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Only 38% of Africans were online in 2024, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The divide is stark: 57% in urban areas compared to just 23% in rural communities. Mulongo adds that affordability is just as critical.
“Data costs and handset prices remain structural barriers that no amount of masts or satellites will fix on their own,” he said.
Nigeria is betting on scale. In January 2025, the Federal Executive Council approved the construction of 7,000 telecom towers to extend 5G and rural coverage. Ethiopia is pursuing both state and market routes. Ethio Telecom announced plans to deploy 1,298 new mobile sites in FY2024–2025, including 165 rural sites, alongside major fibre extensions. It is currently seeking more than US$1.1 billion to facilitate this deployment. Safaricom Ethiopia is matching that with private investment. The company launched a US$1.5 billion programme to build 5,000 new towers over three years and began switching on the first locally manufactured units early in 2025. Kenya is also densifying. Atlas Tower Kenya marked its 400th tower in early 2025, underscoring the pace of independent tower company expansion. Meanwhile, Safaricom has been rapidly expanding its 5G footprint, adding hundreds of new 5G sites in the first half of the year.
Tanzania’s Universal Communications Service Access Fund has overseen hundreds of rural builds and upgrades, with reports in 2025 noting several hundred new towers and many site upgrades to 3G/4G to widen rural access. Satellite services have become a third, fast-moving vector for connectivity in 2025, especially where ground builds are slow or terrain is hostile. Starlink and other LEO providers have been rolling into African markets this year, offering near-immediate coverage in remote areas. Starlink went live in Chad and more than 20 other African countries in 2025.
National actors are pairing with LEOs too. Nigeria’s NIGCOMSAT signed a deal to partner with OneWeb to deliver LEO connectivity nationwide, blending state satellite infrastructure with commercial capacity. Private distribution and reseller deals are accelerating reach. Airtel Africa, for instance, has agreed to distribute Starlink connectivity in select markets since May 2025, signalling that traditional operators see satellite services as complementary rather than purely competitive. New LEO constellations beyond Starlink are also advancing. Amazon’s Project Kuiper launched initial production satellites in 2025, a development that will add capacity options for regions with limited terrestrial reach.Ground infrastructure is following. Atlas Space Operations and others expanded ground-station capacity in Rwanda and Ghana in 2025, improving the ability to manage LEO services locally and support national data needs. While satellites bring speed and reach, they are not a silver bullet. Capacity limits, licensing and regulation remain hurdles. Nigeria’s recent Starlink waitlist surge and service pauses highlight how demand can outstrip satellite capacity and draw regulatory scrutiny.
The acceleration of tower builds, combined with momentum in satellite technology, offers a hybrid playbook for tackling Africa’s connectivity gap, with towers densifying population centres and serving public institutions, while satellites plug remote blindspots and provide resilience where terrestrial grids fall short. Experts argue blended finance is the way forward.
“Public funds can de-risk rural sites while private capital drives scale and speed, and satellites can be gated into national plans to serve schools, clinics and emergency services,” Mulongo added.
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