Uganda regulator moves against 4,000 unlicensed public Wi-Fi resellers

Uganda regulator moves against 4,000 unlicensed public Wi-Fi resellers

13 October 2026: The Uganda Communications Commission says about 4,000 businesses are reselling broadband as public Wi-Fi without a licence, and that a nationwide enforcement exercise to take down their installations and seize their routers is imminent. The regulator has finished its assessment of these operators, is working with the Uganda Revenue Authority to stop them importing telecom equipment, and says equipment that cannot be regularised will be destroyed.

Not yet independently verified. Single source: the Commission's own release, which gives no start date for enforcement, no penalties and no licence category or fee for hotspot operators. The 4,000 and UGX 148 billion figures are its estimates, with no method stated. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

How the resale model works

According to the Commission, the operators buy high-speed fixed broadband, fibre to the home or fixed wireless access, including 5G fixed wireless, from licensed carriers and resell it to the public as hotspot access. It puts the average retail price of a gigabyte from licensed operators at UGX 2,000 with taxes and costs met, against UGX 1,000 from the unlicensed resellers, who pay no tax. The regulator rejects the idea that this is affordable access and calls it "an economic crime".

The Uganda Communications Act of 2013 requires a Commission licence for anyone providing telecommunications services to the public. The Commission estimates the annual loss of government tax revenue at about UGX 148 billion, and says it is still rising.

The harms the Commission lists

Beyond revenue, the release sets out the regulator's case:

• users have no quality standards, complaints route or redress, including when personal data is misused;
• unapproved equipment can interfere with licensed networks;
• routers are mounted on electricity poles and other operators' infrastructure without approval, which has led to installers being electrocuted and has hampered maintenance of the power distributor UEDCL's fibre;
• hotspots sit outside subscriber registration and lawful interception rules, so incidents cannot be traced.

Who needs to act before the crackdown

The order is aimed at the resellers themselves: cease operating and take routers down, or regularise and obtain authorisation. The Commission says it remains open to operators willing to comply. For businesses that offer Wi-Fi to the public, such as hostels, cafes, shared offices and estates, the question is whether their connection is a private service to their own customers or resale to the general public; the release does not draw that line. Companies buying connectivity can check a provider's licence on the Commission's website.

Licensed carriers that sold the underlying broadband are not named in the release. The Commission gives no date for the enforcement exercise and no fine schedule, only that continued operation "will attract enforcement".

Sources

• Uganda Communications Commission: Press release on illegal Wi-Fi hotspots (dated 13 October 2026, posted 15 October), 13 October 2026