Take a look at the calendar, the month of April is as good as over. This means that we have breezed through the first one-third of the year. In local tech and broadband, a lot has come with that passage of time, including a review of voice tariffs.
We all hoped the Government and POTRAZ, the regulator, would jump in and prompt all Internet service providers and broadband merchants to also lower prices. This wasn’t the case. Luckily, the invisible hand of Economics appears to be working in our favour as consumers and since we last took a look at internet packages and prices, some adjustments have been made.
There have been product and price reviews from Powertel and Africom as well as new internet services now available from TelOne in the form of WiFi and Fibre. Nothing has changed from the mobile telecoms operators in terms of price, but the proliferation of very cheap WiFi might just cause a product/price rethink.
So how cheap, or expensive, is to go online in Zimbabwe right now? If you are in Harare (and Victoria Falls) it can be free from a ZOL spot or $1 for 100MB of WiFi from TelOne. These seem to be the best options available for quick access. For home internet, it still looks like its economical to get TelOne ADSL at $25 for 10GB.
Here are most of the internet packages available right now and their prices.
AFRICOM
Super Data Promotion Packages
PRICE ($US) | SIZE | VALIDITY (Hours) |
---|---|---|
0.50 | 20 MB | 24 |
1 | 80 MB | 24 |
2 | 200 MB | 24 |
6 | 500 MB | 24 |
10 | 1 GB | 48 |
MiChoice and Flexi-Bundles Packages
Package/ Bundle | Price | Validity (Days) |
---|---|---|
MiChoice - (Offers Unlimited Social Media Access, Browsing) | ||
MiChoice Bronze | $5 | 7 |
MiChoice Silver | $10 | 14 |
MiChoice Gold | $25 | 30 |
Flexi - Bundles (Pay As You Go Data Package) | ||
11MB | $1 | 30 |
50MB | $5 | 30 |
200MB | $15 | 30 |
500MB | $20 | 30 |
1GB | $40 | 30 |
2GB | $60 | 30 |
3GB | $75 | 30 |
5GB | $125 | 30 |
10GB | $250 | 30 |
POWERTEL
Weekly Fiesta Unlimited Package
DATA PLAN | COST ($USD) | UNLIMITED BROWSING DURATION |
---|---|---|
100 MB | 2.50 | 1 day |
500 MB | 12.50 | 3 days |
1 GB | 23.00 | 7 days |
2 GB | 39.00 | 14 days |
Regular Package
Data Bundle | Cost ($US) |
---|---|
1 GB | 23 |
2GB | 39 |
3GB | 58 |
20GB | 230 |
TELONE
ADSL
Package | Price($US) | Download Cap |
---|---|---|
Basic | 25 | 10GB |
Silver | 45 | 25GB |
Gold | 85 | 50GB |
Platinum | 160 | Unlimited |
TelOne Fibre to the Home
Package | Price ($USD) | Download Speed |
---|---|---|
Starter | 36 | 5Mbps (usage capped at 20GB) |
Boost | 70 | 10Mbps (usage capped at 50GB) |
Intense | 118 | 20Mbps (unlimited) |
ZOL ZIMBABWE
Package | Price($USD) | Download Speed |
---|---|---|
Plus | 49 | up to 1 Mbps |
Enhanced | 99 | up to 2 Mbps |
Ultra | 129 | up to 3 Mbps |
ZOL Fibroniks | ||
Basic Essentials | 39 | up to 5Mbps (capped at 15GB per month) |
Family Essentials | 89 | up to 10Mbps (capped at 30GB) |
Entertainment Pack | 149 | up to 20Mbps |
Modern Family Pack | 199 | up to 30Mbps |
Power Pack | 259 | up to 50Mbps |
Turbo Pack | 339 | up to 100Mbps |
APTICS
Package(all packages are unlimited) | Cost($US) | Speed |
---|---|---|
Aptics Bargain | 50 | 256Kbps |
Aptics Basic | 75 | 512Kbps |
Aptics Standard | 120 | 1Mbps |
Aptics Deluxe | 180 | 2Mbps |
iWay Africa
Package | Cost ($US) | Speed | Data Allowance |
---|---|---|---|
Mobile Internet | 42 | 3.1Mbps download speed | unlimited |
WiMax | from 99 | from 1Mbps | from 40GB p/m |
Fibre | from 99 | from 1Mbps | from 40GB p/m |
uMax Internet Packages
musheMAX | monthlyMAX | skyMAX |
---|---|---|
$45/ month | $75/month | $150/month |
15GB allowance | 40 GB allowance | 150 GB allowance |
2 Mbps download speed | 3 Mbps speed | up to 5 Mbps |
15GB access off-peak (12am -6am) | 40 GB accessible off-peak (between 10pm and 6am) | Unlimited access off peak (between 10pm and 6am) |
Yo Africa WiMax Packages
Package | Cost($US) | Speed |
---|---|---|
Mild | 70 | 512Kbps |
Medium | 110 | up to 1Mbps |
Hot | 160 | up to 1.5Mbps |
Mobile Network Operators Broadband Prices
Data Price (US$) *All prices are for bundle rates | Econet Wireless Broadband | NetOne Broadband | Telecel Broadband |
---|---|---|---|
0.50 | 5MB | 8MB | 4.8MB |
1 | 10MB | 17MB | 9.5MB |
3 | - | 70MB | 76MB |
5 | 80MB | 125MB | 142.5MB |
10 | 200MB | 285MB | 304MB |
20 | 500MB | 670MB | 800MB |
30 | - | 1GB | - |
35 | 1GB | - | - |
45 | - | - | 2GB |
50 | 2.5GB | 2GB | - |
75 | - | - | 4GB |