Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of
Zimbabwe (Potraz) says No mobile network operator has been given the greenlight
to increase tariffs but they have submitted proposals.
Speaking during the Fourth Quarter 2018 presentation Potraz’s
director general, Dr Gift Machengete said the authority is yet to make a
determination on the applications made by telecommunication companies.
“We have not approved any local tariff increases, we are
still looking at the matter. We have received applications but have not
approved any at the moment. We now have a board after six months without one
and this is one of the issues we will look at,” said Dr Machengete.
“Applications have been made but we are still looking at it
but will announce the board’s decision as soon as possible through the correct
channels.” He added.
Some service providers in the telecommunications industry
have, however, doubled tariffs for internet and data services.
“What the Telecommunications companies did was to convert
the tariff amount from the US dollar to the RTGS, which means they change the
currency, rating which means it’s still the same amount.” Machengete said.
Internet and data usage in the country has been on a growth
trajectory since 2012 and is expected to continue growing. Between 2012 and
2018, data traffic grew from 29 million megabytes to 27 billion megabytes. At
$1,155 million, mobile revenue was 36 percent above prior year, which recorded
$0,849 million on the back of growth in voice traffic Total voice traffic grew
20 percent to 5,3 billion minutes.
