Mobile service penetration rises to 106,4 percent

ZIMBABWE’S mobile services penetration rate rose to 106,4 percent during the first quarter of the year, two percentage points higher than during the previous quarter, according to a report by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz). Potraz’s postal and telecommunications sector performance report for the first quarter revealed that the penetration of mobile services during the period was at 106,4 percent.

The rise has been complemented by the availability of SIM cards from all three networks, with most individuals possessing at least two active SIM cards.  The high mobile penetration rate means that people in remote areas are now more accessible and can benefit from the service that the mobile telecommunication companies are offering.

The private sector has also been able to take full advantage of the penetration rate by providing services such as mobile money and selling products. In the quarter under review, there was a 1,9 percent growth in mobile subscriptions to reach 13 892 109 subscribers, from 13 633 167 subscribers recorded in the fourth quarter of last year.  The quarter on quarter growth rate in mobile subscriptions has however slowed substantially since the first quarter of 2013.

“The majority (98 percent) of mobile subscribers are on pre-paid tariff plan, that is 13,6 million subscriptions against 282 948 post-paid subscriptions,” said Potraz.  Increased preference of pre-paid services is mainly due to its flexibility and the fact that it allows the subscriber to enjoy promotions which are not usually offered on the post-paid platform.

Two of the three mobile operators recorded a growth in mobile subscribers during the period under review. Econet’s subscribers grew by 4,1 percent to 9 075 925 from 8 720 869, while NetOne experienced a marginal growth of one percent to 2 356 815 from 2 333 739.

Telecel registered a significant decline of 4,6 percent in subscribers to 2 459 369 from 2 578 559 owing to the deactivation of about 120 000 lines which had become inactive on their network.

“Econet recorded the largest subscriber market share of 65,3 percent gaining 1,3 percent market share from the previous quarter. Telecel lost 1,2 percent market share down to 17,7 percent from 18,9 percent recorded in the previous quarter,” said Potraz.

During the quarter under review, total mobile traffic declined by 20,7 percent to record 1,9 billion minutes, from 2,4 billion minutes registered during the previous quarter. The intra-network traffic contributed 73,9 percent to the total traffic. Total fixed lines were recorded at 326 183 up from 304 162 lines during the previous quarter. This represents a 7,2 percent increase in the fixed line subscriber base. This is the first time in a year that there has been a growth in fixed line subscribers.

There was a decline of 8,1 percent in fixed to mobile traffic to reach 79 174 074 minutes from 86 156 888 minutes registered during the previous quarter.  Traffic from the fixed network to the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) operators increased by 73,6 percent to reach 270 508 minutes from 155 866 minutes recorded in the previous quarter.  The increase in traffic flow between the fixed network and Internet Access Providers can be attributed to the increase in the number of IAPs that TelOne has interconnected with.

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