
Millions of Zimbabweans who subscribe to the two networks
are expected to benefit from the development through enhanced services and
efficiency.
It is also anticipated that the agreement will lead to
reduced operational costs.
In the statement to The Sunday Mail yesterday, NetOne chief
executive officer Mr Lazarus Muchenje said infrastructure sharing dovetails
with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030, which seeks to propel the
country’s economy towards an upper middle income status in the next eleven
years.
“This agreement allows NetOne and Econet to optimise the
utilisation of scarce foreign currency as it eliminates the duplication of
infrastructure,” he stated.
“This is a watershed agreement which supports Vision 2030,
which is to create a middle-income status economy, through improved
accessibility of ICTs across the country.”
Econet chief executive Mr Douglas Mboweni said the
agreement was “a giant step” that was long overdue.
“We are happy to have signed this agreement, something we
have wanted to do in a very long time.
“We consider this to be a very fair arrangement and believe
it represents a giant step in our collective endeavour to bring connectivity
and ICT services to all Zimbabweans,” he said.
The agreement defines the site-sharing parameters among the
two operators, including arrangements on sharing towers, commercial and back-up
power supply, back haul transmission and security.
Econet and NetOne serve more than 90 percent of the
country’s close to 13 million active mobile network subscribers.
The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of
Zimbabwe has been encouraging telecoms operators to share infrastructure as
this is a viable business model. Sunday Mail
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