Zimbabwe Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Publication Date: April 2024

Report Pages: 181

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

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Summary
Table Of Contents

Zimbabwe becomes one of the few African countries with 5G

Zimbabwe’s telcos continue to be affected by the country’s poor economy. This has been exacerbated by the significant economic difficulties related to the pandemic. Revenue has also been under pressure from a number of recent regulatory measures and additional taxes imposed by the cash-strapped government. Inflation has become so high that year-on-year revenue comparisons since 2019 have been difficult to assess meaningfully.

The three MNOs Econet Wireless, NetOne and Telecel Zimbabwe continue to invest in network upgrades, partly supported by government efforts and cash released from the Universal Service Fund. As a result of these investments, LTE networks have expanded steadily, though services remain concentrated in urban areas.

International bandwidth has improved since fibre links to several submarine cables were established via neighbouring countries. The expansion of 3G and LTE-based mobile broadband services has meant that most of the population has access to the internet. The government has started a national broadband scheme aimed at delivering a 1Mb/s service nationally by 2030. Investment in fixed broadband infrastructure has also resulted in a slow but steady growth in the number of DSL connections, and also fibre subscriptions. During 2021, most growth in the fixed broadband segment has been with fibre connections.

Key developments:

Econet launches 5G services, though the country’s liquidity difficulties hamper the purchase of equipment in foreign currency;
MNOs increase tariffs for voice and data services to address pressure on revenue;
TelOne adds capacity to its Harare data centre;
Telcos agree to the government's infrastructure sharing policy;
Regulator revokes a number of ISP licenses;
TelOne providing satellite broadband with Eutelsat;
Government enforces m-money interoperability on MNOs, changes m-money tax rate;
Report update includes the regulator's market data to Q3 2021, annual report for 2020, telcos' operating and financial data to Q4 2021, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of the pandemic on the telecoms sector, 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
Covid-19 and its impact on the telecom sector

Economic considerations and responses
Subscribers
Infrastructure

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
4G (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)
National Broadband Project

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)

Appendix – Historic data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities – Zimbabwe – 2021 (e)
Table 2 – Change in telecom revenue by services ($ million) – 2012 – 2018
Table 3 – Change in telecom revenue by services inflated (ZW$ million) – 2019 – 2021
Table 4 – Development of mobile voice traffic – 2012 – 2021
Table 5 – Development of mobile market financial data ($ million) – 2012 – 2018
Table 6 – Mobile market financial data inflated (ZW$ million) – 2019 – 2021
Table 7 – Growth in the number of base stations in service by technology – 2013 – 2021
Table 8 – Change in the market share of GSM base stations by operator – 2015 – 2021
Table 9 – Change in the market share of 3G base stations by operator – 2015 – 2021
Table 10 – Change in the market share of LTE base stations by operator – 2015 – 2021
Table 11 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 12 – Change in the number of active mobile subscriptions by operator (million) – 2012 – 2021
Table 13 – Change in the market share of active mobile subscriptions by operator – 2012 – 2021
Table 14 – Growth in mobile data traffic – 2012 – 2021
Table 15 – Change in the market share of mobile data traffic by operator – 2015 – 2021
Table 16 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 19 – Growth in Econet Wireless’s data revenue – 2012 – 2019
Table 20 – Growth in Econet Wireless’s data revenue inflated (ZW$) – 2020 – 2022
Table 21 – Growth in the number of Econet Wireless’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2021
Table 22 – Decline in the number of NetOne’s active mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2021
Table 23 – Change in the number of Telecel’s active mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2021
Table 24 – Increase in the number of Econet Wireless’s registered EcoCash subscribers – 2012 – 2019
Table 25 – Econet Wireless’s active EcoCash subscribers (regulator data) – 2015 – 2020
Table 26 – Development of Econet Wireless’s EcoCash revenue – 2013 – 2017
Table 27 – Econet Wireless EcoCash transactions – 2013 – 2018
Table 28 – Increase in the number of Econet Wireless’s EcoCash agents – 2013 – 2018
Table 29 – Market share of active m-money subscribers by operator – 2015 – 2020
Table 30 – Mobile money market subscribers and agents – 2013 – 2020
Table 31 – Change in the value of the m-money market ($ million) – 2016 – 2018
Table 32 – Change in the value of the m-money market inflated (ZW$ million) – 2019 – 2020
Table 33 – Increase in internet access revenue and investment ($ million) – 2012 – 2018
Table 34 – Increase in internet access revenue and investment inflated (ZW$ million) – 2019 – 2021
Table 35 – Growth in the number of internet subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2021
Table 36 – Growth in the number of fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 37 – Growth in the number of DSL subscribers – 2012 – 2021
Table 38 – Growth in the number of Ecoweb’s data subscribers – 2012 – 2019
Table 39 – Ecoweb broadband revenue – 2013 – 2019
Table 40 – Ecoweb broadband revenue inflated – 2020 – 2022
Table 41 – Growth in the number of fibre broadband subscribers – 2013 – 2021
Table 42 – Decline in the number of WiMAX internet subscribers – 2013 – 2021
Table 43 – Satellite internet subscribers – 2013 – 2021
Table 44 – TelOne financial data ($ million) – 2012 – 2018
Table 45 – TelOne financial data (ZW$ million) – 2019 – 2020
Table 46 – TelOne revenue by type ($ million) – 2014 – 2018
Table 47 – TelOne revenue by type (ZW$ million) – 2019 – 2020
Table 48 – Decline in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2012 – 2027
Table 49 – Change in fixed-line telephony revenue – 2013 – 2018
Table 50 – Change in fixed-line telephony revenue inflated – 2019 – 2021
Table 51 – Fixed-line voice traffic – 2012 – 2021
Table 52 – Increase in international internet bandwidth – 2012 – 2021
Table 53 – International bandwidth by operator (Mb/s) – 2015 – 2021
Table 54 – Historic - Mobile subscriptions and penetration rate in Zimbabwe – 1999 – 2011
Table 55 – Historic - Active mobile subscriptions – 2000 – 2011
Table 56 – Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity in Zimbabwe – 1999 – 2011
Table 57 – Historic - Fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration – 2001 – 2011
Table 58 – Historic - International bandwidth – 2002 – 2011
Table 59 – Historic – LTE mobile internet subscribers – 2014 – 2017
Table 60 – 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 – Change in telecom revenue by services inflated – 2019 – 2021
Chart 12 – Development of mobile voice traffic – 2012 – 2021
Chart 13 – Development of mobile market financial data – 2012 – 2018
Chart 14 – Mobile market financial data inflated – 2019 – 2021
Chart 15 – Growth in the number of base stations in service by technology – 2013 – 2021
Chart 16 – Change in the market share of GSM base stations by operator – 2015 – 2021
Chart 17 – Market share of 3G base stations by operator – 2015 – 2021
Chart 18 – Change in the market share of LTE base stations by operator – 2015 – 2021
Chart 19 – Change in the number of mobile subscriptions and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Chart 20 – Change in the number of active mobile subscriptions by operator – 2012 – 2021
Chart 21 – Change in the market share of active mobile subscriptions by operator – 2012 – 2021
Chart 22 – Growth in mobile data traffic – 2012 – 2021
Chart 23 – Change in the market share of mobile data traffic by operator – 2015 – 2021
Chart 24 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Chart 25 – Development of Econet Wireless’s financial data – 2012 – 2019
Chart 26 – Development of Econet Wireless’s financial data inflated – 2020 – 2022
Chart 27 – Growth in Econet Wireless’s data revenue – 2012 – 2019
Chart 28 – Growth in Econet Wireless’s data revenue inflated (ZW$) – 2020 – 2022
Chart 29 – Growth in the number of Econet Wireless’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2021
Chart 30 – Decline in the number of NetOne’s active mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2021
Chart 31 – Decline in the number of Telecel’s active mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2021
Chart 32 – Increase in the number of Econet Wireless’s registered EcoCash subscribers – 2012 – 2019
Chart 33 – Market share of active m-money subscribers by operator – 2015 – 2020
Chart 34 – Change in the value of the m-money market – 2016 – 2018
Chart 35 – Increase in internet access revenue and investment – 2012 – 2018
Chart 36 – Increase in internet access revenue and investment inflated – 2019 – 2021
Chart 37 – Growth in the number of internet subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2021
Chart 38 – Growth in the number of fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Chart 39 – Growth in the number of DSL subscribers – 2012 – 2021
Chart 40 – Ecoweb broadband revenue – 2013 – 2019
Chart 41 – Ecoweb broadband revenue inflated – 2020 – 2022
Chart 42 – Growth in the number of fibre broadband subscribers – 2013 – 2021
Chart 43 – TelOne financial data ($) – 2012 – 2018
Chart 44 – TelOne revenue by type ($ million) – 2014 – 2018
Chart 45 – Decline in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2012 – 2027
Chart 46 – Change in fixed-line telephony revenue – 2013 – 2018
Chart 47 – Change in fixed-line telephony revenue inflated – 2019 – 2021
Chart 48 – Fixed-line voice traffic – 2012 – 2021
Chart 49 – Increase in international internet bandwidth – 2012 – 2021
Chart 50 – International bandwidth by operator – 2015 – 2021

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

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Zimbabwe Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

Zimbabwe becomes one of the few African countries with 5G

Key developments:

Companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

Regional Africa Market Comparison

Country overview

Covid-19 and its impact on the telecom sector

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