The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe released the figures yesterday.
Tele-density rate is one of the critical tools used to measure Information and Communication Technology (ICT) penetration. The Ministry of Information Communication Technology in its 2010 to 2014 strategic plan had set a target to increase national tele-density by 10 percent each year.
In an interview with Herald Business Potraz deputy director-general Mr Alfred Marisa attributed the enhanced penetration rate to the macro-economic stability prevailing in the country.
"There has been increase in ICT penetration especially when measured by tele-density. Early this year tele-density was about 37 percent. Eight months into the year, it stood at about 54 percent. Mobile operators have been increasing their capacities in order to accommodate more subscribers.
"The use of stable currency has been the main driver behind the increase in subscribers as operators are now able to purchase the necessary equipment to expand their networks.
"The use of stable currency has also enabled some operators to access the much-needed offshore funding for network expansion projects. The sector has largely managed to access such funding due to its huge potential for growth and profitability.
"However, ICT as measured by Internet users currently stands at a mere 11,3 percent. The estimated total number of Internet users in the country is 1 410 000," said Mr Marisa.
The huge disparity between ICT penetration as measured by tele-density, and ICT penetration as measured by Internet use is probably indicative of the extent to which Zimbabwe has adopted the more significant new technologies and its integration in the global information society. This has put paid to the notion that Zimbabwe is e-ready.
Zimbabwe has so far adopted limited critical ICT infrastructure, for instance, in terms of broadband penetration, capacity expansion and improving speed of connectivity. The country is still a long way to achieve broad-based ICT utilisation, let alone the establishment of its proposed e-governance platform.
According to Potraz statistics as at August 31, Zimbabwe has 6 848 000 telephone subscribers, out of an estimated 13 million national population, across both fixed and mobile telecommunication service providers.
The figure can be broken down as follows: Econet subscribers 4 100 000; Telecel subscribers 1 270 000; Net One subscribers 1 100 000 and TelOne subscribers 378 000.
Mr Marisa also commented on the significance of mobile telecommunications operators’ change in prefix numbers.
"The change of mobile numbers to (07- ) was put in place in order to harmonise with other international and regional countries. Besides, with the ever-changing technology, there are new services that are coming up that require numbers. For instance 023 (formally used by Telecel) is for the new services and the code 09 (Econet) is reserved for emergency services, and so on," he said.
The Potraz deputy director also noted that Zimbabwean mobile operators’ tariffs were competitive in comparison to regional averages.
"The Zimbabwe’s mobile tariffs (which average 24c per minute) compare favourably against regional tariffs. The regional average is about 29c per minute. The tariffs that our mobile operators charge are required by law to be cost based."
Some mobile operators in the region charges per minute are as follows: Swaziland’s MTN 38c; Mozambique’s Vodacom 24c; Namibia’s CellOne 20c; Kenya’s Celltel 30c; South Africa’s MTN 38c, and Cell C (also of South Africa) 33c.
Meanwhile as at August 31 — the initial deadline for mobile subscribers’ registration —– the three mobile operators had managed to register the following subscribers: Econet 2 500 000; Telecel 660 000, and NetOne 700 000.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Tawanda Musarurwa
Quelle/Source: The Herald, 08.10.2010
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