Data drives telecos revenue up 15 percent

Zimbabwe’s telecommunications revenue increased by 15 percent to $262 million in the quarter to September from $228.7 million in the previous quarter driven by a rise in mobile data usage, the regulator reported.

Mobile network operators contributed $194 million from $161.5 million last quarter, about 72 percent of the sector’s total revenue. Internet Access Providers’ revenue in the quarter rose by 1.2 percent to $39.3 million.

The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) said that mobile data utilization had increased by 16.1 percent in the third quarter, with full year usage expected to double that of 2015.

“The total mobile data usage for the first 9 months of 2016 was 5 525 terabytes and has already exceeded the 3 682 terabytes used in (all of) 2015,” said Potraz in its latest quarterly report.

Internet subscriptions, were flat at 6.7 million while mobile subscriptions declined by 2.4 percent to 12.6 million.

“As a result of the decline in active mobile telephone subscriptions, the mobile penetration rate declined from 97 percent to 94.3 percent. This is the first time that the mobile penetration rate has declined since 2015,” said Potraz.

The internet penetration rate remained at 50 percent. An additional 233 base stations were commissioned during the quarter, bringing the total to 7 589, Potraz added.- The Source

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