Mobile phone operators see 12.3% revenue growth in Q1

Harare, (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe’s mobile phone operators recorded a 12.3 percent revenue growth in the first quarter to $13.8 billion compared to the last quarter of 2020 as demand for voice calls and data
remained high, the industry regulator has said.

In the quarter ending December 2020, the sector recorded revenues amounting to $12.3 billion.

Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) director general, Dr Gift Machengete said mobile telecom sector operating costs however shot up 32.9 percent to $7.6 billion due to inflation.

“The inflationary environment, as evidenced by the rising cost of service provision, has not spared operators in the sector,” he said.

“The credit crunch as well as foreign currency challenges have negatively affected network expansion and maintenance as spare parts, equipment and vendor support fees require foreign currency.”

The high cost of International Internet Connectivity also remained a challenge, as Zimbabwe is a landlocked country, accessing bandwidth from undersea cables via Mozambique and South Africa.

In the three months under review, operators saw a 3.5 percent rise to 1.56 billion minutes in voice calls compared to the last quarter of 2020.

“Mobile Internet and data traffic increased by 29.9 percent to record 21 865 terabytes in the first quarter of 2021 from 16 834 terabytes recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020,” Dr Machengete said.

He said the outbreak of Covid-19 had pushed demand for data, with subscriptions up 1.7 percent in the quarter while internet penetration was up 0.2 percent to 60.9 percent.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has served to magnify the significance of ICTs (information communication technologies) in all aspects of life, as it has triggered an exponential rise in Internet usage through activities such as e- learning, e shopping, e worshiping and e-health amongst others,” the Potraz boss said.

“Indeed, the pandemic has magnified the urgent need for accelerating digital transformation.”

Meanwhile, the postal and courier sector saw volumes rising 21.8 percent in the quarter to 483 391 items compared to the last quarter of 2020.

“This is largely attributable to COVID-19 restrictions that affected the channelling of mail, resulting in a huge dip in mail volumes, which in the future are set to improve as lockdowns get relaxed globally,” Dr Machengete said.

However, the sector’s operating costs at $187 million, surpassed generated revenue at $158.4 million.
New Ziana