• DRC ends legal chaos with 20-year unified licenses for mobile giants, boosting investor security and paving the way for tech neutrality.

• Data revenue surged to $307M in Q2 2025, capturing 54% of the market. The unified license aids this shift from voice to mobile internet.

• The new deal allows 5G legally, but spectrum costs remain. Regulator ARPTC gains stricter powers to penalise poor service quality.

International investors have long viewed the Democratic Republic of Congo as a paradox: a market of immense demographic potential hindered by an archaic regulatory framework. However, the events of December 5, 2025, in Kinshasa may well be remembered as the moment the country’s digital economy finally matured. In a move that fundamentally redraws the map for the telecommunications sector, the government has officially transitioned its four major mobile operators—Vodacom, Orange, Airtel, and Africell—to a unified licensing regime. This is not merely a bureaucratic adjustment; it is a structural overhaul designed to secure investments for the next two decades and pave the way for a data-driven economy that has already begun to eclipse traditional telephony.

The ceremony presided over by José Mpanda Kabangu, the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and New Information and Communication Technologies, marks the end of a long period of legal fragmentation. For years, operators in the DRC were forced to navigate a labyrinth of heterogeneous titles, holding separate authorisations for 2G, 3 G, 4G, fibre optics, and value-added services. These titles were often issued under different regimes, creating a patchwork of expiration dates and obligations that complicated long-term strategic planning.

By handing over the ministerial orders that convert these disparate titles into a single, comprehensive license, the government has effectively aligned the DRC with international best practices. This transition, rooted in Law 20/017 of November 25, 2020, establishes the principle of technological neutrality. In practice, this means operators are no longer legally restricted by the specific technology they use to deliver services. Whether through fibre, 4G, or future 5G standards, the license covers the service rather than the transmission method, theoretically removing the administrative friction that has historically slowed down innovation in the Congo.

The urgency of this reform becomes apparent when analysing the sheer scale of the market it now governs. The sector is expanding at a breakneck pace, driven by a population increasingly hungry for connectivity. Data from the Regulatory Authority for Post and Telecommunications of Congo (ARPTC) for the second quarter of 2025 reveals a vibrant ecosystem. Between the first and second quarters of the year, mobile penetration rose from 56.7% to nearly 62%, an increase of roughly 9% that saw the number of active subscriptions climb to 69.4 million.

In this high-stakes environment, Vodacom continues to assert its dominance, holding approximately 35.5% of the subscriber base, followed by Orange and Airtel, who remain locked in fierce competition with roughly 30% and 28% respectively. Africell, though smaller with just over 5.5% of the market, remains a key challenger in specific segments. These numbers reflect a market that is not only growing but also becoming increasingly competitive, justifying the need for a stronger, more flexible regulatory referee.

From Voice to Data: The New Economic Reality and Long-Term Stakes

The true catalyst for this regulatory shift, however, is the fundamental change in how the Congolese economy consumes connectivity. We have crossed a historic threshold: data is now more financially significant than voice. The figures for the second quarter of 2025 are unequivocal: mobile internet services generated over 307 million dollars, accounting for nearly 54% of the sector’s total global turnover of 573.5 million dollars. While the telecom sector as a whole is growing, the data segment is exploding, with year-on-year growth of over 30%.

With 34.5 million active mobile internet users now online, representing a penetration rate of nearly 31%, the demand for bandwidth is insatiable. The volume of data consumed has surged by almost 27%, placing immense pressure on existing infrastructure. In this context, the unified license is not just a legal document; it is a necessity for survival. It allows operators to deploy convergent fixed-mobile offers and enterprise solutions without facing regulatory bottlenecks, a flexibility that is essential if they are to keep pace with the explosion in data traffic.

This operational freedom is underpinned by a critical component that often goes unmentioned in public announcements: the extension of the investment horizon. Based on the provisions of Decree n°22/12, the conversion to unified licenses confers on operators a valid title for 20 years. This two-decade visibility is a game-changer for infrastructure financing. In the telecom industry, where capital expenditure is measured in hundreds of millions of dollars, the ability to amortise assets over 20 years rather than 10 or 15 years drastically changes the return-on-investment calculation.

It makes the DRC a more "bankable" destination for global capital, signalling to European and international investors that the legal rug will not be pulled out from under them. This stability is championed by industry leaders such as Khalil Al Americani, Director General of Vodacom Congo, who described the reform as a modern framework aligned with the sector's future.

However, this new era comes with stringent conditions. The "technological neutrality" granted by the license does not equate to a free pass for 5G deployment. While operators now have the legal right to launch 5G services without a new concession, they still lack the essential fuel: radio spectrum. The acquisition of 5G-specific frequencies remains a separate, paid administrative process. This distinction is vital. The unified license opens the door, but the regulator still holds the keys to the airwaves, likely setting the stage for upcoming spectrum auctions or allocation processes that will determine the actual timeline for ultra-high-speed mobile internet in the country.

Furthermore, the new regime significantly empowers the regulator. The ARPTC, which successfully enforced the September 2025 ultimatum for license conversion, now wields a reinforced Terms of Reference (Cahier des Charges). This document imposes stricter obligations regarding coverage, quality of service, and consumer protection. Unlike in the previous era, when sanctions could be bogged down in legal ambiguity, the new framework provides the ARPTC with clear leverage to penalise operators that fail to meet connectivity targets or neglect rural coverage. As the DRC moves forward, the balance has shifted: operators have been given the freedom and time they requested, but they are now more accountable than ever for the nation's digital development.

Idriss Linge, With Muriel Edjo