Mobile operators record $248m revenue

By Kudzai Chawafambira

Zimbabwe’s three mobile network operators’(MNOs) combined revenue surged by nine percent to $248 million in the third quarter to September 2014 on the back on increased investment, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Potraz) has revealed.

According to the regulatory body, the three — Econet Wireless (Econet), Telecel and State-owned Net*One — recorded $227 million revenue in the previous quarter.

“Total investment increased by 10 percent to reach $46,949,601 from $30,711,033 recorded in the second quarter of 2014,” Potraz said in its latest quarterly report.

During the three months under review, Potraz said an additional 75 2G base stations were added onto the wireless networks, increasing the number of 2G base stations to 3 284 from 3 209. 3G base stations also increased from 1 260 to 1 300.

Among the three networks, Econet is the largest followed by Telecel and Net*One.

Potraz said Econet’s active subscribers grew by 2,1 percent to 6,4 million while Telecel’s fell by 2,1 percent to 2,2 million.

Net*One registered the largest increase of 13,8 percent to 2,7 million.

“The number of LTE base stations increased by only 2 base stations to reach 19 LTE base stations from 17 LTE base stations recorded in the previous quarter. All the 19 LTE base stations belong to Econet,” Potraz noted.

It added that mobile money transfer services subscribers increased by 16,3 percent to reach 4,9 million from 4,2 million while the total value of transfers and transactions on the platforms increased by 35,8 percent to  $403,2 million from $296,8 million recorded in the previous quarter.

“The total number of active mobile subscribers increased by 2,6 percent to reach 11,4 million from 11,1 million subscribers recorded in the previous quarter,” Potraz said.

“Internet penetration rate increased by 0,5 percent to reach 47,5 percent from 47 percent recorded in the previous quarter.”

The total international outgoing traffic increased by 2,2 percent to record 7,9 million minutes from 7,8 million minutes recorded during the previous quarter.

On the other hand, international incoming traffic increased by 9,6 percent to record 15,9 million minutes from 14,6 million minutes recorded in the previous quarter.

International incoming courier and international outgoing postal and courier declined by 13,7 percent and 1,9 percent respectively. Potraz blamed the slowdown in economic activity for the poor performance of the postal and courier services sector.

“The postal and courier market continues to be affected by the substitution effect emanating from the increased use of mobile Internet and data services for billing and paying for goods and services,” it said.

Going forward, Potraz noted that the telecommunications sector has undergone major phases in its growth and technological advancements over the period.

“With the sector continually innovating new services and products, there is no doubt that it will continue to expand.” Daily News