Afghanistan: 4G picking up pace

The Afghan telecommunications market and infrastructure has suffered from extensive damage due to conflict as well as lack of investment and neglect. However, in the years following the U.S.-led invasion, the telecommunications sector has emerged as a leading component of the country’s economy. 

There exist four main mobile operators in the country, Afghan Wireless Communications Company (AWCC) was re-launched in 2002 (incorrectly named as Airtel Afghanistan in table below) and a second mobile operator, Roshan, began offering services the following year. AWCC and Roshan were awarded duopoly exclusivity over the market for three years from 2003 to 2006. A third operator, Areeba, entered the market in 2006 and was subsequently renamed MTN Afghanistan after being acquired by the South African mobile group MTN in 2007. A fourth mobile operator, Etisalat, entered the market in 2007. As of 2014, Roshan had a one-third market share, MTN had a one-fourth market share, and AWCC and Etisalat each had shares of approximately one-fifth.

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The number of mobile-cellular subscriptions in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2016. In 2016, the number of mobile subscriptions in Afghanistan stood at 21.6 million. According to Abdul Razaq Vahidi, the Minister of Communication and Information Technology in Afghanistan; 

"In Afghanistan, in 2002, there was no infrastructure. We almost started from a zero base, with 20,000 fixed lines in Kabul city and some major cities. But now, we have 80% mobile penetration and 3 million people out of the 30 million population are using the Internet. "

The mobile sector has been boosted by the absence of effective fixed-line alternatives.

Key developments recently: 

• AWCC launched Afghanistan’s first LTE system with coverage of Kabul.
• Afghanistan is making good progress on the roll-out of a nationwide optical fibre backbone.
• Afghanistan’s mobile market has experienced reasonably strong growth.
• The mobile broadband market is being driven by a rising level of mobile subscribers and strong competition.

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The operator with the largest number of subscribers Roshan is an Afghanistan success story, serving as a catalyst for economic growth and actively contributing to the country’s long-term development. Since its inception in 2003, Roshan has invested approximately $700 million in Afghanistan and is the country’s single largest investor and taxpayer, contributing approximately five percent of the Afghan government's overall domestic revenue. Roshan directly employs more than 700 people, 20 percent of whom are women, and provides indirect employment to more than 35,000 people. The company announced their 4G network would be launched imminently in May 2017. No further information can be found as yet. 

Roshan is deeply committed to Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), part of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), is a major shareholder of Roshan and promotes private initiatives and building economically sound enterprises in the developing world. Also owned in part by Monaco Telecom International (MTI) and Telia, Roshan brings international expertise to the country and is committed to the highest standards of network quality and coverage for the people of Afghanistan.

Meanwhile in May 2017, Afghan Wireless launched the first 4G LTE service in Afghanistan. That service is now live in Kabul, and the company is extending 4G LTE to the entire country. 

The company has invested more than $400,000,000 to build Afghanistan's largest, fastest and most reliable communications network. AWCC's network provides its 4G/LTE, 3G and 2G subscribers with data access capacity of at least 400 Mega Bytes per second—the fastest and best speed available in Afghanistan.

Amin Ramin, the Managing Director of Afghan Wireless states:

"We at Afghan Wireless are proud to be the first mobile communications company to provide 4G/LTE service to the people of Afghanistan,The launch of AWCC's 4G/LTE Network in Kabul—and soon, throughout the nation—is the latest example of AWCC's determination to provide Afghans with the world's best communications services.  Afghan Wireless is a company built by Afghans. And we're honored to serve Afghans, and support our country's technological development, economic and social progress."

 Some interesting Tweet-observations about Afghanistan:

Met @Javidfaisal, a senior spokesperson in the Afghan government.

Interestingly I found that the active social media presence of the youthful popluation in Afghanistan is very similar to Iran.

4g internet is spreading there, he told us

— Ali Noorani ヌーラーニー (@ali_noorani_teh) March 7, 2018

Turns out high speed mobile internet is reasonably priced in Afghanistan ($11/m for 10Gb) like Iran; unlike Japan where 10Gb/month mbobile data costs at least $60!

— Ali Noorani ヌーラーニー (@ali_noorani_teh) March 7, 2018

Any chance he could explain why I could get a better 3G / 4G mobile signal in the mountains of Afghanistan than in and around Old Trafford?

— Stuart Burkhill 🐝 (@stuartburkhill7) March 12, 2018

Afghanistan Mobile Operator Overview

As of March 2014, the penetration rate in Afghanistan was estimated at 89% over a population estimate of 29.8 million.

The country's telcom regulator is the Afghanistan Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ATRA). 

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Last week at an event in Washington, DC, Amirzai Sagin – Afghan Minister of Communications and Information Technology – said that in the last 12 years Afghanistan has come a long way in terms of developing the ICT sector (Information and Communications Technology). Today, there are five major telecom companies, and approximately 60 internet providing companies operating in Afghanistan. More than 90 percent of the Afghan population has access to mobile services, and 22 million of them own at least one mobile phone. The number of internet users continues to increase as the cost of internet has decreased from $1,000/mb in 2002 to $22/mb today. In addition, the Ministry has started issuing National Electronic IDs, which is a centralized system for avoiding fraud. At the end of his keynote address, the Minister said something very important that Afghanistan has the capacity to carry out the next presidential election, which will be in five years, via mobile phones.

All five mobile operating companies (Etisalat, MTN, AWCC, AfTel, and Roshan) are offering their own mobile money product. In 2008 Roshan began the use of the M-PAISA mobile money service. These products include mobile wallet technology, where customers can store their money digitally as opposed to using cash. Roshan’s M-PAISA operates in 6 major cities with 17,000 active users. The users portfolio is about to reach $79.5 million by the end of 2014. Most Afghans receive their monthly salary through their mobile phones, and relatives send money via phone from one province to another.

Last week at an event in Washington, DC, Amirzai Sagin – Afghan Minister of Communications and Information Technology – said that in the last 12 years Afghanistan has come a long way in terms of developing the ICT sector (Information and Communications Technology). Today, there are five major telecom companies, and approximately 60 internet providing companies operating in Afghanistan. More than 90 percent of the Afghan population has access to mobile services, and 22 million of them own at least one mobile phone. The number of internet users continues to increase as the cost of internet has decreased from $1,000/mb in 2002 to $22/mb today. In addition, the Ministry has started issuing National Electronic IDs, which is a centralized system for avoiding fraud. At the end of his keynote address, the Minister said something very important that Afghanistan has the capacity to carry out the next presidential election, which will be in five years, via mobile phones.

All five mobile operating companies (Etisalat, MTN, AWCC, AfTel, and Roshan) are offering their own mobile money product. In 2008 Roshan began the use of the M-PAISA mobile money service. These products include mobile wallet technology, where customers can store their money digitally as opposed to using cash. Roshan’s M-PAISA operates in 6 major cities with 17,000 active users. The users portfolio is about to reach $79.5 million by the end of 2014. Most Afghans receive their monthly salary through their mobile phones, and relatives send money via phone from one province to another.


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Roshan’s network now covers 60% of Afghanistan’s population. A third of the country’s subscribers are Roshan customers, giving it the largest market share of the five mobile network operators in the country. And there is plenty of room yet to grow. Though the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority puts telephone penetration at 72%, Ladak says the proportion of people with  phones is probably half that. Afghans, like their counterparts in the rest of the poor world, own more than one SIM card to take advantage of different rates and packages. 

That should mean there are millions of Afghans yet to connect.

Foremost among these, perhaps, is that 3G data and services such as ringtones and caller tunes make money, even in a very poor country.  When Roshan launched 3G services last year, the demand took it by surprise. Perhaps it shouldn’t have: Afghans, like anyone else, enjoy entertainment and music. Some 600,000 subscribers, or 10% of Roshan’s total customer base, now use 3G. Their top destinations are—yes—Facebook, YouTube and news websites. 

Mobile networks cover 88.5% of Afghanistan’s population.

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