More
    HomeNewsTelcos revenue rise 98 percent in the first quarter

    Telcos revenue rise 98 percent in the first quarter

    Published on

    spot_img

    Harare, (New Ziana) – The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has said nominal revenue earned by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the first quarter of the year grew by over 98 percent compared to the last quarter of 2023.

    In its 2024 abridged postal and telecommunications sector performance report, POTRAZ said in the period under review, MNOs earned ZWL 2.27 trillion (approximately ZiG 910.46 million) from ZWL1.15 trillion recorded in the previous quarter.

    However, given the fact that the local currency depreciated by 72.32 percent in the quarter under review from the previous quarter, coupled with rising inflation in the first quarter of 2024 of around 45.90 percent, real growth in revenue was 65.60 percent.

    “During the period under review, aggregate operating costs for Mobile Network Operators grew by 188.28 percent from ZWL699.8 billion which was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023, to ZWL 2.02 trillion (approximately ZiG 807.37 million) which was recorded in the first quarter of 2024. However, in real terms, total operating costs grew by approximately 140.97% from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024,” said POTRAZ.

    The increase in the cost structure of MNOs, the telecommunications regulatory body said, was spurred by a 261.29 percent depreciation of the local currency against the USD for the period between the fourth quarter of 2023 and first quarter of 2024, meaning that more of local currency was required to access USDs in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.

    Resultantly, the costs in local currency increased significantly.

    MNOs total capital expenditure amounted to ZWL 162.96 billion (approximately ZiG 65.22 million), showing a 39.10 percent rise from ZWL 117.11 billion recorded in the previous quarter.

    The number of base stations increased following the deployment of 109
    new ones by the three MNOs in the country, compared to 161 new base
    stations which were deployed in the fourth quarter of 2023.

    POTRAZ said digital transformation is fast becoming a reality as evidenced by a surge in data consumption through increased use of online trading, e-government, other digital platforms, and Internet of Things (IoT).

    This trend, POTRAZ said, has necessitated the apparent preference by MNOs to deploy higher data capacity 3G and 4G (LTE) base stations compared to 2G base station with a total of 66 3G and 52 LTE base stations being deployed during the quarter under review.

    However, the total number of active fixed telephone subscriptions contracted by 5.97 percent in the first quarter of 2024, reaching 291,160 from 309,645 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023, resulting in a 0.12 percent decline in fixed teledensity to reach 1.90 percent, from 2.02 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.

    “Contraction in fixed telephone subscriptions may be attributed to mobile substitution due to increasing popularity and widespread adoption of mobile phones, which offer mobility convenience,” said POTRAZ.

    During the period under review, the sector recorded a 1.56 percent contraction in active mobile subscriptions from 14,973,816 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 14,746,943 in the quarter under review, resulting in a 1.56 percent decline in mobile penetration rate from 97.7 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 96.14 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2024.

    The largest decline of active mobile subscriptions was recorded by NetOne which dropped by 5.52 percent, whilst Econet recorded a slight decline in active mobile subscriptions of 0.04, but that for Telecel grew by 4.34 percent.

    “Econet continued to dominate the active subscriber market share as it gained 1.07 percent from 69.73 percent registered in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 70.80 percent in the quarter under review. Telecel slightly gained in market share as it gained 0.06 percent. It is worth noting that gains of Econet (1.07 percent) and Telecel (0.06 percent) arose from a reduction in NetOne’s market share which contracted by 1.14 percent from 28.39 percent in the previous quarter to 27.25 percent in the quarter under review,” said POTRAZ.

    New Ziana

    Latest articles

    Warrant of arrest for Gwanda man who killed wife for denying his conjugal rights

    Bulawayo, (New Ziana)-The Bulawayo High Court has issued a warrant of arrest for a...

    Parliament pushes for decentralization of cancer treatment

    Harare,  (New Ziana)-The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care has called for...

    Bulawayo to take hard stance on stray dogs

    Bulawayo, February 14,2025(New Ziana)- The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has issued a stern warning...

    No longer business as usual: Improved feeds transforming livestock production in Zimbabwe

    By Johnson Siamachira Harare, (New Ziana) — At dawn, the sun casts its first golden...

    More like this

    Warrant of arrest for Gwanda man who killed wife for denying his conjugal rights

    Bulawayo, (New Ziana)-The Bulawayo High Court has issued a warrant of arrest for a...

    Parliament pushes for decentralization of cancer treatment

    Harare,  (New Ziana)-The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care has called for...

    Bulawayo to take hard stance on stray dogs

    Bulawayo, February 14,2025(New Ziana)- The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has issued a stern warning...