Econet to launch its own Teletunes

We’ve received information suggesting that Econet is preparing to launch the Caller Ring Back Tone (CRBT) value added service. It’s not clear exactly when the service will be launched but our source says a marketing campaign for the new service is already being put in place. CRBT is a service that allows subscribers to purchase a song and set it to be played to their callers. The Econet move follows the launch of a similar service by Telecel (Teletunes) last month.

We contacted the Econet press people and they didn’t respond to our email, something that usually suggests something is indeed going on. According to our source, Econet has been working to launch the service since about a year ago. Delays to launch service were caused by some technical challenges.

Though CRBT services have been common value added service for years in other countries, the service was first launched in Zimbabwe by Telecel last month. It’s not clear what the uptake of such a service will be on the market. Information we received from Telecel’s VAS technical partner, Pop Technologies, indicate the service response has been “fantastic”.

Econet is the country’s largest telecoms operator by number of subscribers with a total 6.4 million subscribers.