Revenue for Zimbabwe mobile phone operators falls 10 percent

Revenue for Zimbabwe’s mobile operators fell by 9.7 percent from $199.2 million to $179.8 million in the quarter to March, as voice income plummeted and operating costs spiked, the regulator reported.

Operating costs were up 5.7 percent from $128.6 million to $135.9 million while total voice traffic was down 9 percent.

Voice service contributed 60 percent to the sector’s total revenue while data and internet services contributed 21.5 percent.

Mobile internet and data utilisation increased by 4.7 percent. 

“The Average Revenue per User per Month for the mobile operators declined by 13 percent to record $3.98 from $4.50 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2016. On the other hand, the Average Cost per User per Month increased by 3.7 percent to record $3.07 up from $2.96 recorded in the previous quarter,” said Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) in a quarterly performance report .

“As a result the Average Margin per User per Month declined by 40.9 percent to record $0.91 from $1.54 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2016”.

Investment by mobile operators during the quarter under review tumbled 85 percent from $71.7 million to $10.4 million.

Active mobile subscribers were up 0.8 percent from 12.8 million in the previous quarter to 12.9 million while fixed telephone subscriptions fell 15 percent from 305 720 to 257 626.

Revenues by Internet Access providers went up 11.4 percent from $40.9 million recorded in the previous quarter to $45.6 million.

Zimbabwe has three mobile operators — Econet Wireless, NetOne and Telecel Zimbabwe.-The Source

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