By Zachary Gava
Harare, (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe’s telecommunications sector recorded robust growth during the first quarter of 2026, driven by rising demand for mobile internet, increased broadband subscriptions and sustained investment in digital infrastructure, signaling the country’s continued shift towards a data-driven economy.
In the latest Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) First Quarter Sector Performance Report, Director General Dr. Gift Machengete said the sector outperformed the previous quarter across most key indicators, reflecting growing consumer demand and continued confidence by operators in the market.
The report shows that mobile internet and data traffic rose by 11.85 percent to 179.33 petabytes, while fixed internet traffic climbed by an impressive 29.39 percent to 479.94 petabytes.
The number of internet subscriptions also increased by 15.49 percent to 4.44 million, pushing internet penetration from 84.55 percent to 87.39 percent.
Mobile broadband subscriptions grew by 15.49 percent to 4.03 million, while fixed broadband subscriptions rose by 6.58 percent to 304 383. Overall, total internet penetration advanced to 87.39 percent, underscoring Zimbabwe’s growing reliance on digital services.
Machengete attributed the sustained growth to ongoing investments by operators.
“The increasing international Internet bandwidth capacity, albeit a decline in used international Internet bandwidth capacity, underscores the ongoing international Internet bandwidth capacity increase by 15.49 percent,” he said.
The report also recorded a significant improvement in network capacity, with equipped international internet bandwidth increasing by 4.03 percent to 1.58 Tbps.
Although voice traffic declined by 3.48 percent, reflecting changing consumer behaviour, data-based communication continued to gain ground.
POTRAZ noted that the widespread adoption of Over-the-Top (OTT) applications such as internet-based messaging and calling services has reduced reliance on conventional voice calls. Meanwhile, SMS traffic remained strong, rising by 8.89 percent to 2.52 billion messages.
The postal and courier sub-sector also registered positive growth, with postal items handled increasing by 11.21 percent to 323 759, while courier volumes rose by four percent to 212.
Despite the strong operational performance, total sector revenue declined by 2.36 percent to ZWG 7.74 billion, largely due to lower mobile network operator revenues. However, capital expenditure rose sharply by 15.2 percent to ZWG 1.08 billion, highlighting continued investment in network expansion and modernization.
Machengete said Zimbabwe’s telecommunications industry is undergoing a structural transformation from traditional voice services to data-intensive communications.
“This will largely be driven by the favourable macroeconomic conditions under which the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s tight monetary policies have successfully driven down the quarter-on-quarter inflation, stabilizing the local currency,” he said.
He added that operators are increasingly investing in LTE and next-generation 5G base stations, alongside fibre backbone expansion, to improve service quality and lay the technological foundation needed to achieve Vision 2030.
POTRAZ, the statutory regulator of Zimbabwe’s postal and telecommunications sector, publishes quarterly performance reports to monitor industry trends, guide policy formulation and provide insights into the sector’s contribution to the country’s digital transformation agenda.
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