Telecoms and internet in Somalia

How many people are connected

The 2022 national household survey found (Somali National Bureau of Statistics, SIHBS 2022):

• 85 percent of people aged 15 and over owned a mobile phone, with little difference between towns, villages and nomadic areas.
• 81.8 percent of phone owners used their phone for money transfers and payments.
• 27.6 percent of people aged 10 and over had used the internet in the past three months, mostly outside the home.

Phone and internet prices fell 1.8 percent in the year to July 2026 (SNBS, CPI July 2026).

The main companies

The National Communications Authority (NCA) has given spectrum licences to seven mobile operators: Amtel Somalia, Golis Telecom Somalia, Hormuud Telecom Somalia, Somtel Ltd, Somtel Somalia, Somtel Telecommunications Company and Telesom (NCA, licence register).

• Hormuud Telecom is the largest network in southern and central Somalia and runs EVC Plus, the largest mobile money service (TechCabal, June 2026). It launched 5G in 2024 in Mogadishu, Kismayo, Galkayo, Baidoa, Dhusamareeb, Beledweyne, Afgoye, Merca and Dhobley, and says its network covers 81 percent of people (Connecting Africa, March 2024).
• Somtel runs eDahab mobile money and co-owns the DARE1 undersea cable (NCA, submarine cables).
• Golis Telecom serves Puntland and the northeast and runs Sahal mobile money (Wikipedia, Golis Telecom Somalia).
• Telesom serves Somaliland and runs Zaad mobile money (GSMA).

The NCA also lists licensed internet providers, regional network builders, virtual operators (such as Somnet and Durdur), the Somali Research and Education Network, and 21 registrars for the country's .so web domain (NCA, licence register).

Market share

Estimates differ widely. Omdia put Hormuud's share at over 39 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2023 (Connecting Africa). Other estimates give Hormuud about 45 to 47 percent (TS2). There is no published official count by operator.

The regulator

The National Communications Authority was set up in 2018 under the National Communications Act. On the ITU's ICT Regulatory Tracker, Somalia's score rose from 0 in 2007 to 77.5 in 2024, the largest gain of any country measured (Dawan Africa, May 2026).

Undersea cables

Five undersea cables land in Somalia (NCA, submarine cables):

• DARE1: Mogadishu and Bosaso. Somali landing owned by Somtel (50 percent), Hormuud (40 percent) and Djibouti Telecom (10 percent).
• PEACE: Mogadishu, Kismayo, Berbera and Bosaso. Somali segments owned by Hormuud.
• G2A: Berbera and Bosaso, with Golis, Hormuud and Telesom.
• 2Africa: Berbera and Mogadishu.
• EASSy: Mogadishu.

Damage to cables in the Red Sea has slowed Somalia's internet in recent years (Dawan Africa).

Satellite internet

The NCA approved an operating licence for Starlink on 13 April 2025, to bring satellite internet to remote areas (SONNA). Its cost limits who can use it (Tech in Africa).

How it grew

After the state collapsed in 1991, private Somali companies built the phone networks with no state regulator. Mobile money operators ran for years without a licence, until the Central Bank's first licence in 2021 (University of Oxford research; VOA). Today telecoms are one of the main areas for foreign investment (Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025). See Mobile money in Somalia.