Cable.co.uk has been analysing data packages from around the world for 6 years now and publishing the results for all to see. Over the years we have seen Zimbabwe rank as having the most expensive mobile internet in the world, although that was misleading.
Cable has now released a report on fixed internet prices across the world. Cable analysed ADSL and fibre packages from 219 countries and it comes as no surprise that Zimbabwe comes up as one of the most expensive places in the country. It was only recently that we were complaining about the same.
That said, perusing the data that Cable has on Zimbabwe, you can clearly see that they did not quite capture what’s on the ground. Yes, internet access is expensive in the country but the cheapest broadband package in the country does not cost $128 as Cable says. We shall get into this later.
In Zimbabwe, when we talk about fixed internet, the major players are Liquid, TelOne, Powertel, Telco and Dandemutande. Cable analysed 6 USD packages from these providers and factored in both unlimited and capped packages. This is what came out:
The average cost of broadband
The average cost of broadband in Zimbabwe in 2023 is US$201. Only two countries out of 219 have a higher average cost, Suriname at $269.44 and Burundi at $383.79.
This $201 is the median average of the 6 packages in the country that they analysed. What packages were they looking at to come to that figure?
It appears they only analysed 6 of the most expensive packages in the country. The average broadband package is not $201. A median of $201? There aren’t that many packages more expensive than that and so we can safely say that’s wrong.
We have so many capped packages in this country, most of them costing less than $100 for the above to be true.
The cheapest broadband package
Zimbabwe’s cheapest broadband package is $128 according to Cable which means only one country has a more expensive entry package.
That’s not the case. We can see how analysing only 6 packages in the country may have led Cable to conclude wrong.
Seeing as Cable supposedly included capped packages, it is misleading to say $128 is the cheapest package in the country.
For example, TelOne has a $10 for 10GB package which should be at up to 2Mbps. Liquid’s 10GB package costs about the same as well and promises up to 10Mbps.
Both these companies have many other packages that cost less than $100.
Checking Liquid’s website reveals that their cheapest unlimited package costs $165 (149,855/970) whilst TelOne’s costs $163 and both offer up to 20Mbps.
The most expensive package
Out of 219 countries, Zimbabwe is number 195 according to Cable. Meaning only 24 countries have a more expensive top-tier package.
Apparently, the most expensive package in the country costs $298.
Checking Liquid’s packages reveals their most expensive residential unlimited package costs $300 (291,66/970) at 50Mbps, which is probably the $298 Cable found. Telone’s Intense Extra costs $306 at 50Mbps.
Average cost of 1Mbps per month
Zimbabwe ranks 205 out of 219. Meaning only 14 countries are more expensive. Cable works the average cost of 1Mbps in Zimbabwe at $12.57.
This too does not sound right. Look at the TelOne and Liquid packages we mentioned above and you can see that Cable’s data was rendered misleading by only looking at 6 packages in the country.
We can ignore this report for the most part
We are all too familiar with what’s on the ground in Zimbabwe and can see just how off Cable is on our country. That makes it hard to trust that they are spot on when it comes to other countries.
In 92 of 219 countries, Cable analysed less than 10 packages. They say the low number is also an indication that there are limited options in those countries. That may be but in Zimbabwe’s case at least, Cable did not pick the packages to analyse well. That could be the case in some countries too.
We can learn something from the report but we can’t take it as gospel truth.
We can’t even say Zimbabwe should rank better because we can’t be sure that other countries’ average prices weren’t also incorrectly analysed as higher than they actually are.
To quench your curiosity, the cheapest average broadband package can be found in Sudan of all places at only $2.30. The average cost of 1Mbps per month in that country sits at $0.80, compared to our $12.57.
When looking at regions, Northern America has the most expensive average prices out of 13, and Sub-Saharan ranks 4th.
You can peruse the data yourself at this link. You can download the full report there as well.
Do let us know what you think about all this in the comments section below. Are you using fixed internet and are you paying $201 for that service?
Also read:
Is it me or does the report that we’re getting 11Mbps from Econet, NetOne, and Telecel sound wrong?
What’s your take?