Zimbabwe Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Last updated: 10 Oct 2024 Update History

Report Status: Current

Report Pages: 203

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

Contact BuddeComm

Purchase this Report

Summary
Table Of Contents

Zimbabwe hoping new currency will encourage investment in telecoms

Zimbabwe’s telcos continue to be affected by the country’s poor economy. In recent years both Telecel and NetOne have needed to be financially rescued by the government, their principal shareholder. Revenue has also been under pressure from a number of recent regulatory measures and additional taxes imposed, while tariff hikes have been met by customer disapprovals despite the necessity of offsetting rising costs. A new currency introduced in April 2024, the ZiG, is the latest attempt to provide some stability and thus attract investment.

The three MNOs Econet Wireless, NetOne and Telecel Zimbabwe continue to expand the reach of their mobile networks, particularly with 5G and LTE infrastructure. After several false starts, the mobile market was injected with competition in the form of the country’s first licensed MVNO, Dolphin Telecom, which launched services at the end of 2022.

International bandwidth has improved since fibre links to several submarine cables were established via neighbouring countries. The expansion of LTE and 5G--based mobile broadband services has meant that most of the population has access to the internet. The government has embarked on a national broadband scheme aimed at delivering services nationally by 2030. While investment in fixed broadband infrastructure resulted in a slow but steady growth in the number of DSL connections up until 2021, since then the number of copper connections has declined while growth has been focussed in the fibre sector.

Key developments:

NetOne declared insolvent.
Government considers allowing m-money agents to re-enter the market.
SpaceX’s unit Starlink secures a licence to provide satellite broadband services via its constellation of LEO satellites.
Zimbabwe prepares for the launch of its ZimSat-2 earth observation satellite.
Powertel Communications to invest up to $50 million in expanding its fibre network in underserved rural areas of the country.
Report update includes the regulator's market data to Q2 2024, annual report for 2022, telcos' operating and financial data to Q1 2025, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

TelOne, Econet, TeleAccess, Afritell, DataOne, Powertel Communications, Telco Internet, Broadlands Networks, Aquiva, Africa Online, ComOne, Ecoweb, iWay Africa (MWEB), TelOne, NetOne, Econet Wireless, Telecel, Telecontract, Dandemutande (uMax), Afritell, Liquid Telecom, DataOne, Powertel Communications, Telco Internet, Broadlands Networks, Aquiva, Zimbabwe Online (ZOL, Liquid Home), Aptics.

Key statistics
Regional Africa Market Comparison

Market characteristics
Market Leaders
Market Challengers
Market Emergents
TMI vs GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration

Country overview
Telecommunications market

Historical overview
Market analysis

Regulatory environment

Regulatory authority
Fixed-line developments

Sector Reform Policy 1996
Posts and Telecommunications Act 2000
Telecom sector liberalisation
SNO licence
Privatisation
Licence fees
ICT Strategy 2010
ICT Strategy 2015
National Policy for ICT Act 2016
International gateways, interconnection
Taxes
Universal Service Fund (USF)
Subscriber registration
Infrastructure sharing
Converged Licensing Framework (CLF)

Mobile market developments

SIM card registration
Fourth mobile licence
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
Network sharing
Spectrum auction
Spectrum Allocation Plan

Mobile market

Market analysis
Mobile statistics
Mobile infrastructure

5G
LTE
3G
Satellite mobile

Mobile data
Mobile broadband
Major mobile operators

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (EWZ)
NetOne
Telecel Zimbabwe
Mobile Virtual Network operators (MVNOs)

Mobile content and applications

Money transfer, m-banking
M-commerce

Fixed-line broadband market

Introduction and statistical overview

Broadband statistics
Zimbabwe Internet Exchange (ZINX)

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Networks

ISP market

Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP)
Other fixed broadband services

WiMAX
Wi-Fi
Satellite broadband

Digital Economy

E-commerce
E-learning
E-health

Fixed network operators

TelOne

Fixed-line infrastructure

TeleAccess Zimbabwe
Afritell

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network
Smart grid infrastructure
International infrastructure

TelOne
Econet
Other carriers
Data centres
Internet Exchange Point (IXP)
Satellite

Appendix – Historic data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities – Zimbabwe – 2024 (e)
Table 2 – Change in telecom revenue by services ($ million) – 2012 – 2018
Table 3 – Change in telecom revenue by services (ZWL million) – 2019 – 2023
Table 4 – Development of mobile voice traffic – 2012 – 2024
Table 5 – Change in the market share of mobile voice traffic by operator – 2021 – 2024
Table 6 – Development of mobile market financial data ($ million) – 2012 – 2018
Table 7 – Mobile market financial data (ZW$ million) – 2019 – 2022
Table 8 – Growth in the number of base stations in service by technology – 2013 – 2024
Table 9 – Change in the market share of GSM base stations by operator – 2015 – 2022
Table 10 – Change in the market share of 3G base stations by operator – 2015 – 2022
Table 11 – Change in the market share of LTE base stations by operator – 2015 – 2022
Table 12 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 13 – Change in the number of active mobile subscriptions by operator (million) – 2012 – 2024
Table 14 – Change in the market share of active mobile subscriptions by operator – 2012 – 2024
Table 15 – Growth in mobile data traffic – 2012 – 2024
Table 16 – Change in the market share of mobile data traffic by operator – 2015 – 2024
Table 17 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 21 – Growth in Econet Wireless’s data revenue – 2012 – 2019
Table 22 – Growth in Econet Wireless’s data revenue inflated (ZW$) – 2023 – 2024
Table 23 – Growth in the number of Econet Wireless’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Table 24 – Decline in the number of NetOne’s active mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Table 25 – Change in the number of Telecel’s active mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Table 26 – Increase in the number of Econet Wireless’s registered EcoCash subscribers – 2012 – 2019
Table 27 – Change in the number of Econet Wireless’s active EcoCash subscribers (regulator data) – 2015 – 2020
Table 28 – Development of Econet Wireless’s EcoCash revenue – 2013 – 2017
Table 29 – Increase in the value of Econet Wireless EcoCash transactions – 2013 – 2018
Table 30 – Increase in the number of Econet Wireless’s EcoCash agents – 2013 – 2018
Table 31 – Market share of active m-money subscribers by operator – 2015 – 2020
Table 32 – Change in the number of m-money subscribers and agents – 2013 – 2020
Table 33 – Change in the value of the m-money market ($ million) – 2016 – 2018
Table 34 – Change in the value of the m-money market inflated (ZW$ million) – 2019 – 2020
Table 35 – Increase in internet access revenue and investment ($ million) – 2012 – 2018
Table 36 – Increase in internet access revenue and investment inflated (ZW$ million) – 2019 – 2024
Table 37 – Growth in the number of internet subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2024
Table 38 – Growth in the number of fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 39 – Change in the number of DSL subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Table 40 – Growth in the number of Ecoweb’s data subscribers – 2012 – 2019
Table 41 – Development of Ecoweb’s broadband revenue – 2013 – 2019
Table 42 – Change in Ecoweb’s broadband revenue (inflated) – 2020 – 2022
Table 43 – Growth in the number of fibre broadband subscribers – 2013 – 2024
Table 44 – Change in the number of WiMAX internet subscribers – 2013 – 2024
Table 45 – Change in the number of satellite internet subscribers – 2013 – 2024
Table 46 – Development of TelOne’s financial data ($ million) – 2012 – 2018
Table 47 – Development of TelOne’s financial data ($ million) – 2013 – 2018
Table 48 – Development of TelOne’s financial data (ZWL million) – 2019 – 2022
Table 49 – Development of TelOne’s capex – 2013 – 2022
Table 50 – Development of TelOne’s revenue by type ($ million) – 2014 – 2018
Table 51 – Development of TelOne’s revenue by type (ZWL million) – 2019 – 2022
Table 52 – Development of TelOne’s ARPU by type (ZWL/month) – 2019 – 2022
Table 53 – Change in the number of TelOne’s fixed broadband and voice subscribers – 2013 – 2022
Table 54 – Development of TelOne’s fixed-line infrastructure and internet capacity – 2013 – 2022
Table 55 – Change in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2012 – 2027
Table 56 – Change in the number of VoIP connections – 2022 – 2024
Table 57 – Change in fixed-line telephony revenue ($ million) – 2013 – 2018
Table 58 – Change in fixed-line telephony revenue inflated (ZWL million) – 2019 – 2022
Table 59 – Decline in fixed-line voice traffic – 2012 – 2024
Table 60 – Increase in international internet bandwidth – 2012 – 2024
Table 61 – International bandwidth by operator (Mb/s) – 2015 – 2024
Table 62 – Historic - Mobile subscriptions and penetration rate in Zimbabwe – 1999 – 2011
Table 63 – Historic - Active mobile subscriptions – 2000 – 2011
Table 64 – Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity in Zimbabwe – 1999 – 2011
Table 65 – Historic - Fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration – 2001 – 2011
Table 66 – Historic - International bandwidth – 2002 – 2011
Table 67 – Historic – LTE mobile internet subscribers – 2014 – 2017
Table 68 – Historic – National backbone fibre length – 2013 – 2017

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Africa Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Leaders
Chart 2 – Africa – Market Leaders global ranking
Chart 3 – Africa Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Challengers
Chart 4 – Africa – Market Challengers global ranking
Chart 5 – Africa Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Emergents
Chart 6 – Africa – Market Emergents global ranking
Chart 7 – Africa – Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per capita
Chart 8 – Africa – Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 9 – Africa – Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 10 – Change in telecom revenue by services – 2012 – 2018
Chart 11 – Development of mobile voice traffic – 2012 – 2024
Chart 12 – Development of mobile market financial data – 2012 – 2018
Chart 13 – Mobile market financial data – 2019 – 2022
Chart 14 – Growth in the number of base stations in service by technology – 2013 – 2024
Chart 15 – Change in the market share of GSM base stations by operator – 2015 – 2022
Chart 16 – Market share of 3G base stations by operator – 2015 – 2022
Chart 17 – Change in the market share of LTE base stations by operator – 2015 – 2022
Chart 18 – Change in the number of mobile subscriptions and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Chart 19 – Change in the number of active mobile subscriptions by operator – 2012 – 2024
Chart 20 – Change in the market share of active mobile subscriptions by operator – 2012 – 2024
Chart 21 – Growth in mobile data traffic – 2012 – 2024
Chart 22 – Change in the market share of mobile data traffic by operator – 2015 – 2024
Chart 23 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Chart 24 – Development of Econet Wireless’s financial data – 2012 – 2019
Chart 25 – Development of Econet Wireless’s financial data inflated – 2020 – 2022
Chart 26 – Growth in Econet Wireless’s data revenue – 2012 – 2019
Chart 27 – Growth in the number of Econet Wireless’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Chart 28 – Decline in the number of NetOne’s active mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Chart 29 – Decline in the number of Telecel’s active mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Chart 30 – Increase in the number of Econet Wireless’s registered EcoCash subscribers – 2012 – 2019
Chart 31 – Market share of active m-money subscribers by operator – 2015 – 2020
Chart 32 – Change in the value of the m-money market – 2016 – 2018
Chart 33 – Increase in internet access revenue and investment – 2012 – 2018
Chart 34 – Increase in internet access revenue and investment inflated – 2019 – 2023
Chart 35 – Growth in the number of internet subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2024
Chart 36 – Growth in the number of fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Chart 37 – Change in the number of DSL subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Chart 38 – Development of Ecoweb’s broadband revenue – 2013 – 2019
Chart 39 – Change in Ecoweb’s broadband revenue (inflated) – 2020 – 2022
Chart 40 – Growth in the number of fibre broadband subscribers – 2013 – 2024
Chart 41 – Change in the number of WiMAX internet subscribers – 2013 – 2024
Chart 42 – Change in the number of satellite internet subscribers – 2013 – 2024
Chart 43 – Development of TelOne’s financial data ($) – 2012 – 2018
Chart 44 – Development of TelOne’s revenue by type ($ million) – 2014 – 2018
Chart 45 – Change in the number of TelOne’s fixed broadband and voice subscribers – 2013 – 2022
Chart 46 – Change in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2012 – 2027
Chart 47 – Change in fixed-line telephony revenue – 2013 – 2018
Chart 48 – Change in fixed-line telephony revenue inflated – 2019 – 2022
Chart 49 – Fixed-line voice traffic – 2012 – 2024
Chart 50 – Increase in international internet bandwidth – 2012 – 2024
Chart 51 – International bandwidth by operator – 2015 – 2024

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Map of Telecom Maturity Index global ranking among countries in Africa
Exhibit 2 – Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment
Exhibit 3 – Africa – Market Leaders and market developments
Exhibit 4 – Africa – Market Challengers and market developments
Exhibit 5 – Africa – Market Emergents and market developments
Exhibit 6 – Map of Zimbabwe

Related Reports

Purchase this Report

Contact BuddeComm

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Monitor critical insights with our AI-powered Market Intelligence Platform gathering and analyzing intelligence in real time. With AI trained to spot emerging trends and detect new strategic opportunities, our clients use TMT Intelligence to accelerate their growth.

If you want to know more about it, please see:

TMT Intelligence Platform

Research Methodology

BuddeComm's strategic business reports contain a combination of both primary and secondary research statistics, analyses written by our senior analysts supported by a network of experts, industry contacts and researchers from around the world as well as our own scenario forecasts.

For more details, please see:

Research Methodology

More than 4,000 customers from 140 countries utilise BuddeComm Research

Are you interested in BuddeComm's Custom Research Service?

Hot Topics

News & Views

Have the latest telecommunications industry news delivered to your inbox by subscribing to BuddeComm's weekly newsletter.

Unsubscribe

Zimbabwe Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

Zimbabwe hoping new currency will encourage investment in telecoms

Key developments:

Companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

Regional Africa Market Comparison

Country overview

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile market

Fixed-line broadband market

Digital Economy

Fixed network operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Appendix – Historic data

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

Purchase this Report

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Research Methodology

Hot Topics

News & Views