UCC announces nationwide seizure, destruction of public WiFi installations starting next week

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has announced a nationwide operation to dismantle illegal public WiFi installations, seize routers and destroy equipment that operators fail to regularise.

The regulator has given operators seven days to remove the installations voluntarily before enforcement begins across the country.

UCC Executive Director George William Nyombi Thembo announced the move on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.

The planned operation is a continuation of the recent police action against WiFi hotspot operators in parts of Kampala. UCC had earlier said it was not behind those raids, which involved the removal of routers and other equipment.

The upcoming campaign, however,  will be spearheaded by the Commission itself.

“A nationwide enforcement exercise is imminent. It will involve identification and takedown of illegal installations and seizure of routers and related equipment,” he said.

Nyombi warned that equipment which cannot be brought into compliance would be destroyed in accordance with the law.

He said some operators have mounted routers and related equipment on electricity poles and infrastructure belonging to telecommunications companies without permission.

The installations, he said,  have created safety concerns, including the risk of installers being electrocuted. They can also obstruct Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited teams during maintenance work.

UCC also raised security concerns over public WiFi hotspots operating outside established subscriber registration and lawful interception systems.

“These hotspots sit outside of subscriber registration and lawful interception framework. In short, cheap or convenient access that operates outside the law exposes users and the country to avoidable risks,” Mr Thembo said.

The Commission is also working with Uganda Revenue Authority to stop unlicensed operators from importing telecommunications equipment.

UCC as such urged operators to dismantle their installations before enforcement teams move in.

“The commission encourages all illegal operators to immediately cease all operations and willfully take down all routers and WiFi hotspot apparatus,” Mr Thembo said.

He said operators who remove the equipment themselves could retain it as UCC develops possible compliance options for the sector.

“We are regulators with a human face. We understand how our young people are desperate to get something to do. So we are proposing some pathways,” he said.

“We encourage you to put down these routers yourself and store them somewhere. Probably, the compliance pathway we are creating may favour you.”

Mr Thembo warned that operators risk losing their equipment permanently if UCC teams have to remove it.

“Otherwise when we come down there and pull down those routers ourselves, we don't have storage for such equipment here,” he said.

“The most convenient way is that we shall go to court, ask permission to destroy them. That is not what we want to do.”

UCC has therefore given operators seven days to comply voluntarily.

“We have agreed that we give you seven days to do that. After that, enforcement will begin everywhere. When we pull them down, you will never get them back,” Mr Thembo warned.