Data, courier services demand to peak in 2021

Zimbabwe’s telecommunications sector regulator said on Monday demand for data and courier services is expected to peak this year as the economy opens up after loosening of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

The industry, in 2020 recorded a 751.7 percent jump in revenue to $38.8 compared to the previous year as demand remained high. While demand for data was relatively up, with internet penetration going up 0.3 percent to 60.9 percent, postal and courier services volumes were however down 57 percent during the year owing to movement restrictions.

Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) director general, Dr Gift Machengete said an anticipated growth in economic performance this year would be a boon for the industry.

“The anticipated increase in economic activity will create more employment opportunities and improve disposable incomes, which will boost aggregate demand,” Dr Machengete said.

“Resultantly, we are likely to witness a surge in demand for communication services, in particular data and courier volumes as consumers adapt to the new normal.”

Internet and data subscriptions were up 0.4 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year as more people adopted tele-commuting. Dr Machengete said it would be imperative for network operators to scale up their digitilisation programmes, noting however that access to foreign currency remains a key challenge.

“Coverage only, will no longer be a key factor, hence we may see operators investing more in faster broadband technologies such as 4G and probably 5G,” he said. – New Ziana