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Business Reporter
ECONET Wireless Zimbabwe says it will adjust tariffs in September and November after the telecommunications sector was granted phased tariff adjustment by the regulator, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz).

The 61 percent adjustments will cover voice, SMS, data, internet services and are determined in the local currency.

The last adjustment was in July.

In a trading update for the first quarter ended 31 May, Econet said tariffs remain below viable levels and it expects that in the near term, a scientific and fact-based approach to setting tariffs, that takes into account the movements in the Telecommunications Price Index, will be adopted for the industry.

It said this will allow it to remain focused on delivering high quality digital services across the country by being able to invest sufficiently to absorb the increasing demand for its services.

“The telecommunications sector was granted a staggered tariff adjustment by the regulator of 61 percent in July 2022, and a further 61 percent with effect from 1 September 2022, and a further 61 percent with effect from 1 November 2022.

“The tariff adjustments will cover voice, SMS, data and internet services and are determined in the local currency.”

In July, Potraz gave telecommunications network service operators the nod to increase tariffs in keeping with the rising costs to ensure sustainability of the sector.

However, the telecoms regulator said it would remain cautious of the need to guarantee service affordability for subscribers given that disposable incomes remain under pressure.

Econet said in line with its broad strategy to enhance the digital lifestyles of customers, more focus and attention was directed towards gaming, music and entertainment to create more platforms for entertainment and revenue streams for artists.

“An increase in the uptake of support services or self-care platforms was noted and this has seen an improvement in our query resolution time and customer experience.

“Voice and data traffic for the period under review grew by six percent and 18 percent respectively, over the previous quarter.

“This growth was achieved largely due to our customer acquisition strategy.”.

In the period under review, following the rolling out of G5 services in Harare, Bulawayo, Victoria Falls and Chitungwiza an additional 100 new 4G sites were added to improve network and speed of data connectivity.

However, persistent national grid power outages affected network quality and reliability, necessitating an increase to augment power supply with solar power.

In complying with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe directive to phase out physical airtime distribution, Econet says it has reduced airtime sales from 20 percent to 10 percent.

That has led to an uptake of airtime via electronic means.

However, it said it continues to explore measures to address the limitations for customers that are not able to easily access airtime using virtual platforms.