Zimbabwe: TelOne and Econet revise the prices of their voice, SMS and Internet services
July 12th 2022
The economic crisis in Zimbabwe is weighing on the activities of telecommunications operators. The latter have been asking for the regulator’s agreement for several months to increase the prices of their services. This would allow them to better cope with the situation.
Zimbabwean telecommunications operators Econet Wireless and TelOne have raised the prices of their voice, SMS and data services. This follows a tariff adjustment introduced by the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) in response to rising operating costs.
TelOne’s new rates went into effect Monday, July 11. As for Econet Wireless, its new rates will be effective from Wednesday July 13, according to a notice sent to customers. NetOne and Telecel are also expected to adjust their rates soon.
This decision by the regulator is a relief for telecommunications operators. The latter had already been seeking for a few months to increase their prices in order to cope with inflation, the increase in operating costs, the resurgence of vandalism on the infrastructures, not to mention the power cuts. This should allow them to bear the costs and generate more revenue for capital expenditures and the expansion of their networks in a context marked by the explosion of demand.
The last tariff review for the telecommunications sector came in September 2021. Since then, annual inflation has risen to 191% in June, while the Zimbabwean dollar has fallen 70% against the US dollar since the start of the crisis. ‘year. Additionally, operating costs for mobile operators have fallen from ZWL12.5 billion (US$39 million) in September 2021 to ZWL13.9 billion in December. Regarding the fixed telephone network, operating costs increased by 40% to reach ZWL 2.9 billion in December 2021 compared to ZWL 2.08 billion in September.
It should be remembered that Zimbabwean telecom operators have regularly revised their prices upwards since 2019. However, these adjustments have always proved ineffective, in particular due to the growing inflation that prevails in the country. The regulator announces that controlling operating costs will remain crucial for operators to maintain profitability, given the current inflationary pressures in the economy.
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