Econet Says Wait Till Late October for Mobile Broadband

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No sooner had I hit ‘publish’ on an article about the suspension of Ecoweb Mobile WiMax sales, than a new SMS notification buzzed on my phone. It’s a broadcast message from Econet (You get to do this when you own a huge mobile network) and it confirms what we’ve been writing these past few weeks. It says:

High-Speed, widespread, Broadband Internet will be available from late October. Look forward to competitive packages for home, business and individual use.

What prompted Econet to send this message now is not clear. Maybe there’s nothing to it. Maybe Econet is just using the good old powerful marketing tool of building anticipation. Or maybe there is. Maybe Africom has competition running scared with its new CDMA mobile Internet being offered gratis for a whole month. How do you explain the sudden mobile Internet adverts by PowerTel in the press this week for example? Oh, the lovely smell of competition in the air.

The keyword “competitive” in the Econet SMS is somewhat interesting. Not affordable. No. Competitive. Dampens our enthusiasm a bit. Let’s see.

For Econet’s sake, I hope that whatever is pushing the launch to late October will be sorted by then.

12 comments

  1. c.katanda

    I also got that message, was wondering if evry econet subscriber got it or it’s just those that are currently connected to gprs. If it was not for blackmarket lines i’m sure we would be enjoying high speeds up to now. I got a download speed of 42kbs in chegutu yet the highest i’m gettin in hre is 7kbs at night for that matter.

  2. Software Developer

    Let the competition begin gentleman. What most don’t realize is that broadband internet opens up the country to a cyber economy that is unquantifiable but only limited by one’s own imagination. From call centres, outsourcing, eCommerce, VOIP, mobile computing, you name it, another economic front is opening up. Add to that the fact that Zimbabwe now trades in US$! Get the picture? So TechZim, when I send feedback railing against Econet and you choose not publish it, it’s not out of sarcasm that I am doing it. There are economic $$$ the country is loosing out on.

  3. Aspire Mti

    i hope thez guys deliver,seriously,we dont want another false alarm

  4. Richard

    Yeah right. As children we had a story similar to this … back then it was called either “Father Christmas” or the “Easter Bunny”. Econet couldn’t provide a bottle of beer in a brewery.

  5. Gora

    Competition is good. Definitely. But all i see and hear is a lot of talk, and more talk and more marketing bullshit from just about everyone who says they can offer this service or that price or this speed…..its a bit like when Microsoft releases a new OS, i wait a year before changing to it so that i don’t have to go through the pain of using it whilst they fix it and tweak it and make it better etc. Same applies to Econet. Their track record is crap, so is Africom’s and so is Powertel’s. So much talk and no action. I say watch out for the quiet ones who don’t say much, they will deliver. After all what do people really want? Glossy, fancy, free magazines purporting to educate everyone, huge billboards with cheesy catchphrases..or actually, good quality connectivity at a reasonable price??? Don’t be sucked in by all this advertising nonsense or all you will be doing is feeding that monolithic machine.

  6. Eliazer Chikadzi

    Well this will definitely be good for zim mobile subscribers. Econet has been a leader in offering innovative services for Zimbabwean mobile subscribers especially in terms of internet connectivity. Although many subscribers are frustrated by the hardly present EDGE (me included), Econet remained the most realistic option (if not hope) of getting Internet on your mobile (usually computer as well). Lets hope this time we get a good service, priced well too!! Keep striving for the best guys.

  7. Leonard Majachani

    I like your website. It gives what ICT lovers have been looking for. Can you assist me? What type of usb modem is required for Broadband Internet connection – in terms of Mbps & frequency? Does any modem work for broadband

  8. Kabweza

    Nope, not any modem will work with any broadband service. the term broadband itself is quite broad and can mean a lot of things. To ensure you’re getting the right modem, contact your broadband service provider to get frequency and bandwidth details.

  9. taribabe

    Am patiently waiting for this but in the meantime will stick to my Africom dongle

  10. Josphat ndlovu

    Thanks Guys for your Goog work. I want to Know about using Face book on my Mobile phone.

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