The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has given operators of illegal public WiFi hotspots seven days to remove their equipment or face a nationwide crackdown.
UCC executive director George William Nyombi Thembo issued the ultimatum on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, warning that enforcement teams would confiscate routers and other equipment after the deadline.
He said the commission would seek court permission to destroy equipment seized during the operation if operators fail to regularise their activities.
“A nationwide enforcement exercise is imminent. It will involve identification and takedown of illegal installations and seizure of routers and related equipment,” he said.
The directive follows recent police operations against public WiFi operators in parts of Kampala. Police seized routers and dismantled installations during the raids.
UCC earlier distanced itself from those operations but said it would now lead a separate nationwide exercise.
Thembo accused some operators of installing routers on electricity poles and telecommunications infrastructure without permission.
He said the practice endangers installers, who risk electrocution, and disrupts maintenance work by Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited.
The regulator also raised concerns about national security. It said some public WiFi networks operate outside the required 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,” Thembo said.
UCC has also partnered with the Uganda Revenue Authority to prevent unlicensed operators from importing telecommunications equipment.
However, Thembo said the commission recognises that many young Ugandans depend on public WiFi businesses for their livelihoods.
He urged operators to dismantle their installations voluntarily and keep the equipment as the regulator considers ways to bring them into compliance.
“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.”
He warned that operators who ignore the directive risk losing their equipment permanently.
“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.”
Thembo maintained that operators have seven days to comply before the commission begins enforcement across the country.
“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,” he warned.
