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The Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ) has reported a decline in Zimbabwe Data Penetration from 62.9% to 61.3%.
Presenting the 2nd Quarter 2022 Sector Report, POTRAZ Director Dr Gift Kallisto Machengete also highlighted challenges that are affecting the sector.
“Active fixed telephone lines increased 1.5% to reach 246,722 in the second quarter of 2022, from 243,123 recorded in the first quarter of 2022. Hence, the fixed tele-density increased by 0.03% to reach 1.63%, from 1.6%. On the other hand, the total number of active mobile subscriptions declined by 2% to reach 14,006,034 in the second quarter, from 14,289,085 recorded in the first quarter of 2022.
“Hence, the mobile penetration rate declined by 1% to reach 92.3% from 93.3%. The total number of active Internet and data subscriptions also declined by 3.5% to reach 9,293,560, from 9,644,271 in the first quarter of 2022. Thus, the Internet penetration rate declined by 1.6% to reach 61.3% from 62.9%.” he said.
He further highlighted inadequate foreign currency as one of the reason that is affecting network expansion.
“The sector continues to be negatively affected by the inflationary operating environment, unavailability of credit, shortage of foreign currency amongst other challenges. Prolonged load-shedding remains a challenge to operational efficiency, impacting overall quality of service and raising the cost-of-service provision. The industry is heavily investing in alternative power sources.
“Inadequate foreign currency continues to affect network expansion and maintenance efforts. Unlike other services that may have alternative local supply, the provision of telecommunication relies heavily on imports in the form of equipment, software as well as bandwidth. These challenges call for policy and strategic intervention at both sector and national levels,” said Dr Machengete.
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