Telecoms sector granted nod to increase tariffs by 50%

THE Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Potraz) has with immediate
effect approved an industry-wide 50 percent tariff increase for the telecommunications
sector with another 50 percent hike set for April.

Pan-African technology company, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, which has since
embraced the increase, says the tariff charges were inevitable under the operating
environment, which has seen the business costs growing in tandem with exchange rate
fluctuations.

“This notice serves to inform you that the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory
Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) has approved an industry-wide 50 percent tariff increase
with immediate effect and another 50 percent effective o1 April 2023 for products and
services,” said Liquid in a statement to clients today.

“For us to continue providing you with the best possible quality of service, there is a need
for constant upgrading and improvement of the network infrastructure.”

Last week, Econet Zimbabwe said while the tariff reviews sought to align operating costs
with the current inflationary operating environment, they still remained below the
inflation rate in the economy.

“Zimbabwe’s current telecom tariffs remain below regional benchmarks, hence the
underinvestment in the sector. We will continue to press for tariff revisions that
maintain the real value of our service offerings,” it said.-The Chronicle