ECONET Wireless Zimbabwe, the country’s largest mobile
telecoms operator, has adjusted data bundle tariffs by 60 percent after
receiving the go-ahead from the industry regulator early this month.
The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of
Zimbabwe (Potraz) approved data bundle price increases of up to 190 percent in
early August, but reports say Econet only implemented an increase of about half
the approved percent at the time.
Econet said the latest adjustment was in response to rising
inflation, local currency devaluation and increasing network input costs.
Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rose to a 10-year high of 837
percent in July, up from 737 percent in June, after prices of goods and services
went up due to the impact of drought, foreign currency shortages and the deadly
coronavirus pandemic.
“We remain committed to deliver the best quality data
services and the best value for money for our customers,” Econet said,
stressing the need to continue investing in infrastructure to keep maintaining
quality of service.
According to the new data bundle tariffs, Econet
subscribers will now be paying $13 for a daily 20 megabyte (MB) data bundle up,
from $8, while 100MB of monthly data bundles have been adjusted from $42
toL$67. Econet’s monthly 8G private Wi-Fi bundle will now cost $960 from $600.
NetOne subscribers are currently paying $16 for a 20MB
daily bundle and $100 for a weekly 150MB bundle, while Telecel is charging $15
for daily 50MB bundles and $100 for a monthly 220MB bundle.
The latest data bundle price adjustment comes after fuel, a
major component in the telecommunications sector, increased by over 230 percent
to $83.36 per litre for diesel in August, up from $24.93 per litre in June.
Prices of other crucial components for the operations of
telco firms, such as imported software and hardware products and license fees,
have also risen significantly in the last few months after the official foreign
currency auction rate moved from $57:US$1 in June to $84:US$1 in August.
Earlier in the year it was 1:25.
Industry experts, however, say despite the recent data
price reviews Zimbabwe still has some of the lowest mobile data tariffs in the
region at US$0,01 per megabyte followed by Tanzania (US$0,02) and South Africa
(US$0,025).
At the same time, Botswana has the highest data tariffs at
US$0,08 per megabyte followed by Namibia and Zambia, and Kenya and Mozambique
who charge US$0,05 and US$0,03 per megabyte respectively. The regional average
data tariff is US$0,04 per megabyte.
Early this year, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory
Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) director general Dr Gift Machengete, told
Parliament that the country’s data tariffs were lagging behind regional
countries.
“As Potraz we have also considered the costs of the
operator first so that they keep on running and after that we have been
tracking the cost of data before we come up with the tariffs. We do not just
put up tariffs,” he said. Herald
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