Zimbabwe Internet statistics: 5.2 million subscriptions. 40% penetration

L.S.M Kabweza Avatar

The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe’s latest telecoms statistics show that the country’s total broadband subscriptions climbed 6.45 percentage points in 2013, going up from 33.4% in December 2012 to now an estimated 39.8%. In just that one year, the number of internet subscriptions rose from estimated 4.4 million to now to now 5.2 million.

The bulk of the subscriptions, 5.16m, are mobile internet connections using 2G, 2.5G and 3G connections. These are primary provided by 4 companies; Econet, Telecel, NetOne, Africom, and PowertTel. Unfortunately, the POTRAZ stats don’t show how many subscribers each provider accounts for.

Even though accounting for a small portion of the total internet connections, the fixed broadband connections also increased reasonably in the year. Broken down by technology:

TechnologyNumber of Subscribers
Leased lines1,359
Dial Up8,902
XDSL20,236
Wimax, WiFi9,632
CDMA78,091
GPRS/EDGE/2G/3G/HSDP5,083,138
VSAT334
Fibre1,301
Total Broadband Subscriptions5,202,993

POTRAZ warns that to understand the numbers one must understand that a single subscription can be used by more than one person, especially the fixed broadband. It is also important to note that more than one mobile internet connection can belong a single individual as many people have multiple mobile sim cards.

The reason for the continued internet penetration increase is very clear; reduced mobile broadband tariffs and increased access to internet capable mobile phones – both feature phones and smartphone, but especially the former. Feature phones able to access the internet have dropped significantly in price, now available at prices below $40. Smartphones (Android powered ones from Asia especially) have reduced in price to as low as $70.

The availability of social platforms where people can interact with family and friends (and therefore create and consume relevant social content) has also contributed to the rise in mobile internet usage. Such platforms include Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. When the internet is more relevant it attracts higher usage. In the case of WhatsApp, it’s been more than just social content attraction but more the internet providing a lower cost communication alternative to the traditional SMS service.

Zimbabwe’s total population is 13.6m.

7 comments

  1. Ngoni

    This is a very good development for everyone. I also agree with you that the more relevant the internet becomes the faster the penetration rate. One way of making the internet more relevant is the availability of more local content on the world wide web.

  2. stevesong

    Great update! Is there any chance of a link to the source report?

    1. L.S.M. Kabweza

      Thanks @stevesong:disqus
      There’s no source report unfortunately… just figures sent to us via email. The only other figures in the email are those for mobile penetration in general, which we posted here: http://www.techzim.co.zw/2014/01/zimbabwes-telecoms-stats-2013-103-5-mobile-penetration-rate/

      1. stevesong

        A pity. POTRAZ started such a great trend with the publication of Q2 2012 data at http://www.potraz.gov.zw/index.php/resources/studies-research Would be amazing to see it continue.

  3. Munya Bloggo

    Thanks for this. Very interesting for startups.

  4. bitchsbrew

    Do you guys have the broadband market share stats for each of the main ISPs/IAPs eg Powertel, Liquid, TelOne, Utande?

  5. Gordon Lee

    Please we need real figures not estimates

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