Tunisia’s Ministry of Communication Technologies has approved 5G licenses for Tunisie Télécom, Ooredoo Tunisie, and Orange Tunisie, with the operators set to begin marketing the service around Valentine’s Day. This marks a significant milestone as Tunisia is one of Africa’s leaders in mobile phone subscriptions, with approximately 16.2 million mobile lines and over 80% of internet users relying on mobile data—equating to 11.14 million mobile data subscribers.
The approval of the 5G licenses follows an agreement between the ministry and telecom operators, which was signed on November 30, 2024, in the presence of the head of government, Kamel Madouri. A roadmap for the 5G rollout was finalized earlier in June 2024, leading to the creation of a committee responsible for preparing the licenses. The operators have received 5MHz of Time Division Duplex (TDD) spectrum in the 700MHz band and 100MHz (TDD) in the 3.5GHz band. In addition, they can request three blocks of 20MHz spectrum, with further frequency bands set to be announced in later stages. The licenses will be valid for 15 years.
Tunisia is now ahead of its neighbors, Algeria and Morocco, which have not yet officially launched 5G plans. To support the rollout, Tunisia’s Ministry of Communication Technologies is working on several projects, including connecting 4,000 schools to high-speed fiber optics to enhance access to online education and scientific applications. The country is also aiming to improve its undersea cable connectivity.
According to Ookla, Tunisia’s current median download speed is 27.12 Mbps, with an upload speed of 14.09 Mbps. However, 5G is expected to dramatically improve these speeds. For example, a test by Tunisie Haut Debit in Ariana (Greater Tunis) showed a download speed of 500 Mbps and an upload speed of 100 Mbps on Orange’s 5G network.
Orange has already started offering preorders for 5G-enabled devices like the Samsung Galaxy S25, Galaxy A35, A25, two Oppo Reno models, the Vivo V40, and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus. The company also offers 5G-enabled tablets from Samsung and Xiaomi. Jérôme Hénique, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, visited Tunisia to inaugurate the Orange 5G lab in Tunis ahead of the launch.
Ooredoo Tunisia is also preparing for its nationwide 5G launch, with CEO Mansoor Rashid Al-Khater announcing, “Our preparation for the launch of 5G reflects Ooredoo’s unwavering commitment to delivering unparalleled connectivity and innovation in Tunisia. We are proud to lead this transformation, ensuring a world-class network experience for our customers while driving economic and technological growth in our beloved Tunisia.”
