DR Congo Plans National Mobile Coverage Strategy for Underserved Areas

The Democratic Republic of Congo is developing a national strategy to extend mobile and broadband connectivity to underserved rural and peri-urban communities, where about 4.3 million people across nearly 3,000 localities still lack mobile coverage. The plan follows a status assessment published on August 7 by the country’s Universal Service Development Fund (FDSU).

Coverage gaps by technology and province

The assessment recorded significant disparities in network coverage across the country.

• 2G coverage: 77% nationwide
• 3G coverage: 68% nationwide
• 4G coverage: 57% nationwide

Coverage is highest in Kinshasa at about 98%, compared with 14% in Tshuapa and 28% in both Kwango and Sud-Ubangi.

Investment priorities and infrastructure sharing

The FDSU is prioritising connectivity investments based on coverage gaps, population, economic activity, public infrastructure and geographic considerations. Three strategic routes have been identified for particular attention: the Lobito Corridor, National Corridor and Peace Corridor.

The proposed strategy also encourages greater sharing of passive telecommunications infrastructure, particularly through TowerCos. This approach could reduce network deployment costs and allow operators to focus more resources on active infrastructure, connectivity and digital services.

Internet access, affordability and mobile money

Mobile internet penetration stood at 32.95% in 2025, with Haut-Katanga, Lualaba and Kinshasa recording higher levels while several rural provinces continued to lag behind.

Affordability remains a barrier. International Telecommunication Union data cited in the assessment shows that a 5GB mobile data package costs about 18.8% of gross national income per capita in the DRC, compared with 4.8% in Tanzania, 4.1% in Kenya and 3.2% in Zambia.

Mobile money adoption shows similar disparities. About 46% of mobile subscribers have linked their phone numbers to mobile money accounts, but adoption ranges from 85.3% in Haut-Katanga and 77.2% in Lualaba to 5.8% in Tshuapa and 4.7% in Bas-Uele.

Barriers and strategy goals

The country’s vast territory, limited electricity access, fragmented backbone infrastructure and high costs of deploying networks in remote locations continue to complicate connectivity expansion. The proposed strategy seeks to prioritise areas with the largest coverage gaps and where improved connectivity could generate significant economic and social benefits.

Over time, the initiative aims to narrow the digital divide between major cities and rural and peri-urban communities by expanding mobile broadband coverage and improving access to digital services.