According to GSMA Intelligence, Madagascar had around 18.2 million active cellular mobile connections at the start of 2025. It’s worth noting that many people use more than one SIM or subscription, so mobile connection counts often surpass the number of individuals in the country. Someone might carry one line for personal calls and another for work, and the growing availability of eSIMs has made juggling multiple connections even easier.
In Madagascar, however, the total number of mobile lines has not yet overtaken the population itself. GSMA estimates show that in January 2025, active connections were equivalent to 56.2% of the country’s population.
The market has still been growing at a healthy pace. Between early 2024 and early 2025, the total number of connections rose by 1.4 mil, an increase of 8.5% year on year.
Most of these lines are already broadband-capable. GSMA’s data suggests that 84.6% of connections now run on 3G, 4G, or 5G networks. That doesn’t necessarily mean all of them are used for mobile internet, though, since some subscriptions provide only voice and SMS services.
The leading mobile operators in Madagascar are Telma (Yas), Airtel, and Orange. Market shares are Yas about 50%, Orange about 30%, Airtel about 7%, and SpaceX Starlink around 10% of Madagascar’s internet market as of 2024–2025.
As of early 2025, about 6.6 million Malagasy were online, roughly 20.4% of the population, leaving about 25.8 million people offline. 4G coverage reaches roughly 71% of the population, while overall mobile signal availability sits around 92%.
The market is highly concentrated, but rivalry among the major players is pushing network upgrades. The recent entry of satellite provider Starlink is also intensifying competition, particularly for internet access in underserved areas.
Yas, previously known as Telma Madagascar until its rebranding in late November 2024, is the long-standing market leader in Madagascar’s mobile telecom sector with approximately 5 million mobile subscribers.
In mid-2020, Yas made history by launching Africa’s first commercial 5G service in Antananarivo and Toamasina, in partnership with Ericsson. but broader rollout remains limited with only about 7% of the population having 5G access by 2025. Although the regulator ARTEC later raised technical and permission issues that temporarily delayed further 5G expansion, Yas continues to invest in its core network and fibre infrastructure, positioning itself for future advanced mobile deployments.
Airtel Madagascar is firmly positioned in second place in subscriber count, with around 4.9 million users.
In May 2025, the company secured a forward-looking 15-year global operating license valued at $32.5 million, reinforcing its commitment to long-term infrastructure development and service expansion. In 2021, Airtel divested its passive tower infrastructure in Madagascar to Helios Towers for about $52 million, using the proceeds to reduce debt and fund improvements in its network and sales footprint. While Airtel has not publicly announced a 5G rollout plan, its strategic investments indicate reparatory groundwork for the future market shift.
Orange Madagascar holds the third-largest share of mobile subscriptions, trailing behind Yas and Airtel, with around 3.3 million customers.
In December 2023, Orange secured a €30 million comprehensive global license that empowers it to deliver services across multiple platforms, including mobile, fixed, satellite, and fiber networks. The agreement involves the deployment of up to 500 rural networking telecommunication sites under the NaaS business model in the east coast of Madagascar.
The operator planned to boost its population coverage from approximately 56 percent to 90 percent by the end of 2024, supported by a multilayered rollout of 500 new rural base stations through partnerships with NuRAN Wireless and AMN under a Network-as-a-Service model. Whether they have been successful is yet to be conformed.
Although Orange has not yet launched full commercial 5G, it opened a local 5G Lab in September 2023 to showcase 5G technology and support co-innovations with businesses and developers.
Madagascar’s internet sector is entering a period of rapid change. Long hampered by limited coverage and fragile infrastructure, the country is now seeing fresh investment and new technologies that promise to narrow its digital divide. Mobile networks are steadily reaching deeper into rural regions, while the arrival of satellite services such as Starlink adds another layer of connectivity. Together, these shifts are setting the stage for what many describe as an internet revolution.
Currently Yas remains the dominant operator with pioneering 5G credentials. Orange is accelerating coverage expansion and pioneering 5G exploration through its innovation lab. Airtel is strengthening its position with strategic licensing and infrastructure reinvestments. For consumers in Madagascar, the immediate benefit continues to lie in improving 4G performance and wider coverage, while next-generation 5G adoption unfolds gradually.
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- Operator Watch Blog: Madagascar gets 5G but 2G, 3G & 4G coverage still very patchy
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