Potraz expects growth in sector
THE Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) expects growth in the sector as it anticipates receiving new applications for various services taking advantage of the expanding internet ecosystem.
According to the 2022 fourth quarter sector report, the regulatory authority says last year was characterised by the opening up of the economy, post-Covid, with e-learning and e-conferencing continuing to be the new norm.
Post-Covid further accelerated Internet and data usage rates.
“With the large-scale rollout of 5G and other advances, 2023 will likely be an important year for the telecommunications industry. We are likely to see new applications we have never considered before, as the Internet of Things ecosystem takes centre stage,” reads part of the report.
“Although 5G is very much in the ‘build’ phase right now, as people come to truly understand its capabilities and limitations, we can expect to see the next generation of solutions based on 5G.
“The sector is expected to continue enabling other sectors as envisioned in the Government’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1).”
However, for the sector and the economy to reap full benefits, Potraz said there is a need to address foreign currency availability, price and exchange rate disparity as well as power supplies.
National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1)
It added that the credit crunch continues to stifle universal investment in next generation technologies, to accelerate the digitisation path.
“Nevertheless, opportunities are awash for organisations that can stay close to their customers and capitalise on industry innovations, and successfully navigate the economic landscape.”
The report said as of December 31, 2022, the total number of active mobile telephone subscriptions was 14 300 790, representing a 1,8 percent decline from 14 562 242, recorded as of September 30, 2022.
“Econet was the only operator to record growth in active subscriptions in the quarter under review. Telecel and NetOne’s active subscriptions declined by 16,9 percent and 9,6 percent respectively, which outweighed subscriber growth recorded by Econet and resulted in total mobile subscriptions decline by a margin of 1,8 percent,” said the regulator.
It added that all the three mobile operators experienced fluctuations during the course of 2022.
However, only Econet surpassed its December 2021 active subscriber base, further cementing its lead position.
NetOne and Telecel lost subscriber market share by 2,4 percent and 0,5 percent respectively. Conversely, Econet gained subscriber market share by 2,9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022.
On revenue, aggregate operating costs grew by 68,3 percent, a margin that surpasses growth in aggregate revenue by 18,1 percent.
“This is an indication that costs continued to close in on operator revenue which diminishes operator profits. Capital expenditure grew significantly; the bulk of the capital expenditure was in national switching.”
The total voice traffic by the Public Switched Telephone Network Operator declined by 3,6 percent to record 81,5 million minutes in the fourth quarter of 2022, from 84,6 million minutes recorded in the third quarter of 2022.
There was a 2,5 percent mobile voice traffic decline to three billion minutes from 3,08 billion minutes recorded in the third quarter of the year.-chronicles
