Movitel Unveils 5G Solutions to Drive Mozambique Digital Transformation
Mozambique · TECHNOLOGY
Key Facts
- —What happened Movitel unveiled 5G-based enterprise solutions at FACIM 2026 in Mozambique, including Fixed Wireless Access, private 5G networks and AI-enabled cameras.
- —The licences Regulator INCM granted 5G spectrum licences to Tmcel, Vodacom Mozambique and Movitel on 23 June 2026, covering the 700 MHz, 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands plus 4G expansion.
- —The ownership Movitel is a joint venture between Vietnam’s Viettel Group and Mozambique’s SPI – Gestão e Investimentos.
- —The money The World Bank is backing a government-led device-financing programme that starts with a US$5 million tranche and could scale to US$25 million, alongside 700,000 subsidised smartphones.
- —The target President Daniel Chapo’s agenda aims to extend 5G to all provincial capitals by June 2027 and to all districts by 2030.
- —What comes next Movitel plans tests and gradual implementation first in urban areas, companies, public institutions and high-demand sectors.
Movitel 5G solutions are moving from spectrum licences to enterprise products, as Mozambique pushes to connect provincial capitals by 2027 and broader areas by 2030.
Movitel has unveiled a suite of 5G-based enterprise solutions at FACIM 2026, Mozambique’s main trade fair, signalling the start of commercial product development after the country awarded 5G spectrum licences in June.
What Movitel put on display
At FACIM 2026, Movitel presented Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), private 5G networks, AI-enabled cameras, Intelligent Transport Systems, Intelligent Operations Centres, port management and simulation and training systems.
FWA delivers broadband internet over the mobile network, giving companies and institutions an alternative where fixed-line expansion has not reached. Private 5G networks are aimed at factories and industrial parks that need tailored connectivity and tighter control over their communications.
The company said it plans tests and gradual implementation first in urban areas, companies, public institutions and high-demand sectors. It stressed that the FACIM showcase presented possibilities and did not represent the immediate availability of all solutions nationwide.
That sequencing suggests Movitel is targeting business and government clients before mass consumer rollout.
The licence race behind the launch
Mozambique’s telecom regulator INCM handed 5G spectrum licences to Tmcel, Vodacom Mozambique and Movitel on 23 June 2026, at a ceremony led by INCM board chair Helena Fernandes during the 5th National Communications Conference — one day after President Chapo officially announced the awards. The licences cover the 700 MHz, 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands and also back 4G expansion.
The first rollout phase is to cover provincial capitals, major urban centres, industrial zones, economic hubs and tourist destinations.
Movitel’s appearance at FACIM 2026, weeks after the licence award, shows how quickly operators are moving to claim enterprise customers.
The licences formalise a race that is already partly run: Vodacom Mozambique launched the country’s first commercial 5G service in Maputo in 2023 and later extended it to Matola, Nampula, Nacala, Beira and Tete. The June awards put Tmcel and Movitel on the same regulatory footing and attach national coverage obligations to the spectrum.
Who owns the players
Movitel is a joint venture between Vietnam’s Viettel Group, which holds the majority stake, and Mozambique’s SPI – Gestão e Investimentos.
Mahomed Yassin, Movitel’s Technical Centre Director, has cautioned that rural rollout economics are uncertain where populations are dispersed and consumption is low. Public policy, he argues, will need to balance “financial value with development commitments” — a balance that will feed directly into the tariffs consumers pay.
Vodacom Mozambique is the local unit of South Africa-listed Vodacom Group.
Tmcel is the state-linked incumbent, making the 5G race a contest between Vietnamese state-backed capital, South African corporate capital and domestic public infrastructure.
Money, inclusion and the digital layer
The World Bank is backing a government-led programme to finance digital devices, announced by its representative Anna-Elisabeth Costafrolaz at the June communications conference. It starts with a US$5 million tranche, could scale to US$25 million and is expected to benefit more than 300,000 people, with a focus on women and youth, through microcredit and pay-as-you-go models. A parallel government package includes the distribution of 700,000 subsidised smartphones.
The need is stark: among the poorest 40% of Mozambicans, only 18% own an internet-enabled phone, and the cheapest broadband-capable smartphone costs about 154% of that group’s monthly income, according to figures the World Bank cited from recent Findex survey data. The programme supports the government’s “Internet for All” initiative.
These figures are programme announcements, not operator revenue or profit.
The Chapo agenda and the great-power angle
The 5G plan sits within President Daniel Chapo’s digital-transformation agenda. Chapo has said Mozambique plans to connect all provincial capitals, special economic zones and the main tourist destinations to 5G by 2027 — the regulator has set a June 2027 deadline for the capitals — and to extend coverage to all districts and administrative centres by 2030. A later phase is to reach border zones and rural areas relevant to territorial integration.
Strategically, the telecom market reflects Mozambique’s balancing act between Chinese and Western-linked capital, Vietnamese state-backed investment, and development finance tied to infrastructure, inclusion and control of the digital layer.
The build-out could also gain a regional dimension: Mozambique and Angola are planning an undersea cable linking Nacala and Lobito, which would add international capacity and position Mozambique as a digital corridor between the Indian and Atlantic oceans. That contest over connectivity is part of a wider scramble for African digital infrastructure, as explored in Africa: The New Scramble.
What to watch next
The next milestone is whether Movitel, Tmcel and Vodacom Mozambique meet the first rollout phase covering provincial capitals and industrial zones.
Enterprise adoption in ports, transport and public institutions will show whether 5G moves beyond demonstration booths into operational revenue.
The rural question is the hardest. Tmcel representative Roberto Guirruta has warned that some localities lack the electricity and road access needed to install fibre or microwave links, raising the risk that 5G advances in capitals and industrial zones while remote districts stay excluded. Tmcel is advocating spectrum-sharing flexibility to make sparsely populated areas viable.
With the 2027 provincial capital target approaching, the pace of implementation will test both the regulator and the operators.
Frequently asked questions
What 5G solutions did Movitel unveil at FACIM 2026?
Movitel presented Fixed Wireless Access, private 5G networks, AI-enabled cameras, Intelligent Transport Systems, Intelligent Operations Centres, port management and simulation and training systems.
Which companies received 5G spectrum licences in Mozambique?
Regulator INCM granted 5G spectrum licences to Tmcel, Vodacom Mozambique and Movitel on 23 June 2026.
What is Mozambique’s 5G rollout target?
President Daniel Chapo’s agenda aims to extend 5G to all provincial capitals by June 2027 and to all districts and administrative centres by 2030.
Is 5G already available in Mozambique?
Vodacom Mozambique has offered commercial 5G in parts of Maputo and other cities since 2023. The June 2026 licences give all three operators the spectrum and coverage obligations for a nationwide rollout.
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