MIC Tanzania Limited

{{Short description|Telecommunication company in Tanzania}} {{morefootnotes|date=April 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox company | name = YAS Tanzania Limited (Yas) | logo = Yas Tanzania.svg | key_people = Jerome Albou - [[Acting Managing Director|MD]] Isack Nchunda - [[Chief Commercial Officer|CCO]] | num_employees = 300,000 | type = [[Public company|Public]] | foundation = {{start date and age|df=yes|1993|11|30}} | location = PSSSF COMMERCIAL COMPLEX, Sam Nujoma Road, [[Dar es Salaam]], [[Tanzania]] | industry = [[Telecommunication|Telecommunication Services]] | products = Voice, Data, Messaging, Mobile Money | area_served = [[Tanzania]] | brands = Yas Mixx by Yas | parent = [[Axian Telecom|Axian Group]] | homepage = }} '''Yas''' (Formally '''Tigo''') is a telecommunication company in Tanzania.

With over 13.5 million registered subscribers to its network, Yas directly and indirectly employs over 300,000 Tanzanians, including an extended network of customer service representatives, mobile money merchants, sales agents, and distributors.

Yas is the biggest commercial brand of [[Axian Telecom]], a pan-Afriacan company trading in 5 countries with commercial operations in [[Madagascar]], [[Comoros]], [[Senegal]], [[Togo]] and [[Tanzania]].

==History== In 1993, there was liberalization of [[telecommunication]] [[sector (economic)|sector]] in the country which resulted in the dissolution of Tanzania Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (TPTC) in early 1994. MIC Tanzania Limited was granted a licence on November 30, 1993. The [[corporation]] was a [[joint venture]] between [[Millicom| Millicom International Cellular]] based in [[Luxembourg]], Ultimate Communications Limited of Tanzania and Tanzania Posts and Telecommunications Corporation Bibi. In this venture, 27.7% of the issued [[share capital]] was allotted to the Ultimate Communications Limited and Tanzania Posts and Telecommunications Corporation.

=== Mobitel === The company began operations in 1994 under the name Mobitel and launched Tanzania's first cellular (analogue) service. In 1998 the company expanded significantly and began pre-paid service under the brand "Simu Poa" and began issuing pre-paid cards under the brand "Kadi Poa".

In 1999, Adesemi Tanzania, another telecommunication company operating in the country, was acquired by Mobitel. This gave Mobitel customers access to the company's Private Automatic Branch Exchange networks. At the time, Mobitel was the first company in Africa to provide subscription-free Internet services under its "MobiNet" brand.

In September 2000, with a partnership with [[Ericsson]] Mobitel launched its digital [[GSM network]] in [[Dar es Salaam]]. Both networks were run simultaneously, with the GSM network in the cities and the analogue network in rural areas. The GSM network was marketed under the brand "Buzz", while the analogue network remained under the "Kadi Poa" brand. The analogue network was continually phased out and was eventually shutdown in September 2005.

In February 2004, MIC's parent company Millicom International Cellular took over the 26% stake from the government to control 84% of the company's equity.

=== tiGO === [[File:Tigo.JPG|thumb|Tigo Logo]] In February 2006, after buying out its minority shareholders, the Luxembourg-based pan-African mobile [[Network operator|operator]] Millicom International Cellular announced to take a full control of three of its African-based [[Mobile operators]] including MIC Tanzania Limited. In [[Tanzania]] a [[USD]] 1.332 [[million]] deal enables Millicom to acquire the remaining 16% [[Equity (finance)|stake]] it did not already own after the cellco's minority [[shareholders]] agreed to cancel their call option on the [[business]]. Since then Millicom is the full controller of the company.

After this take over the company re-branded the company from "Buzz" to "tiGO", in line with the company's operations globally.

=== Re-branding to Yas === In April 2024 MIC was acquired by [[Axian Telecom|Axian Telecom Group]] and Tanzanian businessman [[Rostam Aziz]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Team |first=Editorial |date=2022-04-07 |title=AXIAN Telcom & Rostam Azizi's Consortium Acquire Millicom's Telecom Operations |url=https://techafricanews.com/2022/04/07/axian-telcom-rostam-azizis-consortium-acquire-millicoms-telecom-operations/#:~:text=We%20were%20pioneers%20in%20building,better%20experience%20for%20the%20customers. |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=TechAfrica News |language=en-US}}</ref> Following the parent's policy to aligning with a broader strategy to create a unified pan-African brand across its markets, in 26 November 2024 they changed the name from tiGO to Yas.

The re-branding also includes the company's mobile financial services, with Tigo Pesa now operating under the name '''Mixx by Yas'''.

=== Initial public offering === In December 2016, in accordance to the government law, tiGO Tanzania applied to list the company on the [[Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange]], but as of April 9, 2019 it was yet to go public.

== Mobile Services ==

=== Mobile money === Yas like all telecommunication brands in Tanzania operates Mobile money services. Currently, Yas operates the second largest network and subscriber base for mobile money services in Tanzania. In 2014, the company became the first company in the world to share its profit with its subscribers through mobile money. The company issues quarterly dividends to customers based on their daily balance in their Mobile wallet.

Tigo Pesa (currently '''Mixx by Yas''') became the first in Africa to provide a fully interoperable mobile money service network in 2014; that allowed its customers to trade money between Vodacom, Airtel and Zantel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.millicom.com/media/millicom-news-features/tanzania-4g/|title=Millicom {{!}} The Digital Lifestyle|website=www.millicom.com|access-date=2017-01-10}}</ref> The service also extended to Tigo in Rwanda and the company was the pioneer in East Africa's first cross-border money transfer mobile wallet product. The gateway allowed customers in [[Rwanda]] and Tanzania to send money to tiGO customers in the respective countries.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201402260036.html|title=Tanzania: Tigo Pioneers Money Transfer Between Rwanda and Tanzania|date=2014-02-25|newspaper=Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)|access-date=2017-01-10}}</ref>

=== 4G LTE === In December 2015, Yas Tanzania launched [[LTE (telecommunication)|4G LTE]] services in Dar es Salaam. The company was the first in the country to bring 4G and 3G speeds to its customers and possibly one of the first companies in Africa to provide [[LTE (telecommunication)|LTE]] services.

== Statistics == The Table below shows the number of subscribers tiGO had in December of the year based on figures by [[Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority]]. {| class="wikitable" |- align="center" ! style="background: #082567;" | ! style="background: #082567;" | Registered Subscribers ! style="background: #082567;" | Market Share ! style="background: #082567;" | Mobile Money Subscribers ! style="background: #082567;" | Market Share ! style="background: #082567;" | Notes |- | 2012 | align="center" |6,370,796 | align="center" |24% | align="center" |N/A | align="center" |N/A | align="center" | |- |2013 | align="center" |6,297,288 | align="center" |23% | align="center" |N/A | align="center" |N/A | align="center" | |- |2014 | align="center" |8,624,638 | align="center" |25% | align="center" |N/A | align="center" |N/A | align="center" | |- |2015 | align="center" |11,115,991 | align="center" |28% | align="center" |5,252,523 | align="center" |30% | align="center" | |- |2016{{ref|1|*}} | align="center" |11,606,567 | align="center" |29% | align="center" |5,584,052 | align="center" |32% | align="center" | |- |2017 |11,062,852 |27.7% |6,091,578 |27% | |- |2020 |12,660,697 |25% |8,754,060 |28 |19 |}

*{{note|1|*}} Reports numbers as of Dec 2017.

==See also== # [[3G| 3G Technology]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links==

[[Category:Telecommunications companies of Tanzania]] [[Category:Telecommunications companies established in 1993]] [[Category:Dar es Salaam]] [[Category:1995 establishments in Tanzania]] [[Category:Mobile phone companies of Tanzania]]