NetOne vs Econet; battle of the US$1 promotions

So it would appear that Econet and NetOne have coinciding US$1 bundle promotions that are said to be offering value for that elusive hard currency. Here’s a side by side of that the two are offering:

	Econet’s  “Dhola Chete Super bundle”	NetOne’s “Dollar A Day”
Voice	15 Min (not stated On Net or Off Net)	60 Min (On Net)
SMS	15	40
Data	150 MB	–
Other Perks	–	Free calls between 00:00 to 04:00

The interesting thing about the two separate packages is that NetOne is more focused on traditional methods of communication (SMS and Voice). While Econet is taking the more modern approach, by spreading out over everything including the very popular data offering. I’d like to think that both decisions are based on internal statistics, however, on the face of it, Econet looks to be closer in step with the times. We all know that data has been a major hit during the pandemic despite the cost of bundles going up for what seems like every other month. It is strange that NetOne has not upgraded its “Dollar a Day” to also include data.

On the other hand, NetOne might just be on to something because smartphones and feature phones are not ubiquitous. There are a lot of “Mbudzi” phones out there and a package that includes data might be useless for NetOne’s “target market”.

So who wins?

In the vacuum of the US$1 promotions, it totally depends on your use case. If you want some data, then Econet is probably the way to go and if you don’t have a feature or smartphone NetOne ticks all the boxes. I’d very much like to hear where you lean on this one in the comments. Do you think Econet has the better promotion or its NetOne?

You should also read

• Econet introduces US$1 for 15 voice mins, 150 MB data & 15 SMSes bundle promotion
• Getting a sub-par experience on Econet? They are not to blame, mostly
• Bundle price hikes are MNO’s “Christmas box”, as Econet announces tariff review