NetOne to provide lowest priced mobile broadband. Test period ends.

L.S.M Kabweza Avatar

NetOne, the only mobile operator locally that has not been providing mobile broadband services commercially, is now ready to launch. We have received tips from NetOne subscribers that starting Saturday, 8 October, the operator started sending an SMS message notifying subscribers the test was over and they had to start paying for the mobile broadband.

The SMS reads:

Harare Internet tests end 09/10/11. Pay $40 monthly for unlimited access. SMS yes/no to 888 to indicate interest or call 123. Visit the nearest shop to sign up.

Yes, NetOne’s mobile broadband will effectively become the lowest priced locally. Telecel Zim charges US $0.11 per megabyte while Econet, the largest mobile operator locally, charges an average of US $0.10 per megabyte depending on the bundle size purchased.

But internet is not just about price. It is quality that matters more than anything else.

A full 3G network is not cheap to deploy and word around suggests only a few of NetOne’s base stations are 3G. NetOne however recently announced they secured funding to help with the mobile broadband rollout, so until the NetOne data coverage map is released, there’s no telling what the 3G coverage is.

We also haven’t tested the NetOne mobile broadband yet so we can’t say for now how stable or fast the service is. But like you, we find the price quite attractive and will have to get a NetOne line and take it through the paces.

Just a note; unlimited and uncapped internet in these parts normally means the provider doesn’t have the billing system in place to charge subscribers for actual usage. Just wondering if that’s the case here. If it is, unlimited won’t last very long.

We’ll be finding out more details about the service and posting updates over the next few days.

 

10 comments

  1. ic0n1c

    I am interested in this one… Please get us more details. We might dump Econet after all…

  2. Martin Chamambo

    Just a note; unlimited and uncapped internet in these parts normally
    means the provider doesn’t have the billing system in place to charge
    subscribers for actual usage…..i like this statement and true that …….

  3. Three Men On A Boat

    I am always skeptical about unlimited in these parts. A lot of them limit what you can actually do, so you are only can do what they want you to do, unlimited.

  4. I got ol Dongles

    unlimited actually means, no downloading, limited availability, will take 5mins to load google.co.zw. 
    otherwise if it works perfectly, it will be expensive. 

  5. Anonymous

    what is the point of calling it unlimited when you cannot enjoy a full reliable stable service?

  6. Anonymous

    Donglewanalanders; we need a new national anthem! 
    http://www.techzim.co.zw/2011/06/ever-been-to-dongle-wanaland/

  7. JAYONE

    do they have the infrastructure in place to support this new area on their antique network?

  8. Ideas4zim

    i love competition it brings quality of service on the map for the real customer experience, its all about service  not to be like Telone you pay them the 31 bucks they take forever to come and install it for you.M yet to see the day they will match the Econet customer service experience for starters in the shops and not to be like Telecel who launch a product without support OMG. i want service and i will pay for my service!

  9. Rmakosa

    WHERE DO U GET THE SETTINGS CONFIGURES COZ WE DONT THE SETTINGS FOR  NETONE

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