Mobile operators Q1 revenue drops 12%

Bianca Mlilo Business Reporter
MOBILE communication operators in Zimbabwe recorded combined revenues of $168 million in the first quarter of 2016 down from $191,1 million recorded in the previous quarter, a report has revealed.

The country has three dominant mobile phone operators – Econet, NetOne and Telecel who compete for the market.

Diversified telecommunications firm Econet Wireless Zimbabwe commands 52,1 percent market share while NetOne holds 33,8 percent and Telecel stands at 14,1 percent.

In its first quarter performance report for the sector, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority Zimbabwe (Potraz) indicates that revenue has been steadily declining since the fourth quarter of 2014.

“The mobile operators generated a total of $167,7 million in the first quarter of 2016. This was a 12,3 percent decline in revenues from $191,1 million recorded in the previous quarter,” said Potraz.

“All the mobile operators registered declines in their revenues. Mobile revenues have been declining due to the substitution of traditional mobile services with Over-the-Top (OTT) services as well as the general economic environment.”

In the first quarter of 2015, mobile operators collected $188,5 million. The second quarter 2015 recorded revenues of $183,2 million and $182,5 million in the third quarter.

The decline in revenues has been attributed to the rise of OTT voice applications such as Viber, Skype and WhatsApp calling, which have become popular as they are significantly cheaper.

This has resulted in falling international voice traffic and in turn falling revenue from international voice services.

Zimbabwe’s telecommunications sector last year hit a rough patch, collectively posting a four percent revenue drop to $252,63 million from $262,9 million.

 

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