If you’re a mobile network subscriber currently in Zim you better get used to constant price hikes for data, as with most other services. Some Econet subscribers have been receiving messages about an imminent tariff hike from the MNO:
Dear customer. Please take note bundle prices for data & SMS will be reviewed Effective 9 August 2019.
Econet
Considering that NetOne announced more expensive data tariffs, subscribers expect that this will be yet another hike from the MNO known for being the most expensive.
The severe shortage of both electrical power and diesel fuel means that some of our base stations will not be operational when there is no ZESA power or when fuel runs out on a site. This inevitably results in the degradation of all services supported by the network in terms of service availability, call setup, call success rates, dropped call rates and speech quality.
It is increasingly becoming untenable and uneconomical for Econet to guarantee a reasonable grade of service and optimal network uptime under the current conditions. With the ongoing aggressive ZESA load shedding, our requirements are at more than six times the diesel we are currently using in order to provide uninterrupted service.
Econet statement
Considering that government officials have been very loud about securing electricity from Eskom and the SADC Day-Ahead Market, it’s a bit strange that in the face of these promised improvements two of the biggest mobile networks would announce tariff hikes.
This will be the third tariff hike this year and it will be interesting to see how consumers respond. One would assume that the fact that both Econet and NetOne are making this move might be an indicator that previous hikes did not affect consumer appetite for mobile data.
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