Zambia is an interesting country, mostly because we share a very similar history. What’s even more interesting is that we also share strikingly similar geography and demographics.
Zimbabwe does have more natural resources, to our shame. However, there is no other country for which comparisons make the most sense. This has proved to be inconvenient for those who would use our circumstances as an excuse.
Today we focus on the one excuse we have heard over and over – internet access is expensive in Zimbabwe because the country is landlocked.
As recently as December 2023, our ICT Minister Tatenda Mavetera gave us the same old,
I know a lot of times people have been asking me…, ‘where are we in making sure our data becomes cheaper?’ …
… and that is exactly our thrust … so that we have the cheapest data in Africa or the world but here we are, Zimbabwe is a landlocked country.
Because Zimbabwe is a landlocked country, you’ll realise that there is no data that we get cheap…
Is it an excuse?
The excuse works because on some level it is true. We are landlocked and that undoubtedly affects our internet prices. How?
We will not assume people understand why being landlocked leads to higher internet prices. So, in short, although we mostly use the internet wirelessly, the stuff we consume is transported via cables.
It is usually just the last step from your router or the base station in your neighbourhood to your phone that is transmitted wirelessly.
So, if you want to view a webpage that is hosted on a computer in the United States, that data travels via wires. Including some cables deep under the sea that connect continents. It’s wires up to your base station and then the data hops the last few metres to your phone wirelessly.
This is where being landlocked is a negative:
Limited infrastructure: The absence of direct access to undersea cables results in higher costs for laying and maintaining the cables that transport data (terrestrial infrastructure). In some cases, this country hopping can lead to significantly higher latency (lower response).
Reliance on neighbouring countries: We depend on neighbouring countries for internet transit. This reliance on transit agreements with other nations contributes to increased costs, as these agreements involve fees and additional logistical challenges.
So, the landlocked excuse is not an excuse but a reality. However, this is where Zambia throws a spanner into the works.
Zambia is just as landlocked as Zimbabwe. So, whatever applies here, applies there as well. Yet, the landlocked excuse is not used up north as much as it is here.
Internet prices – Zim v Zam
In both countries, fibre internet is still a rich man’s game. Only a minority connects to the internet via fibre. However, let’s still compare the prices.
Fibre is a good one to compare because not only are these both landlocked countries as we discussed, we also have a carrier operating in both countries – Liquid Intelligent Technologies.
Here is what Liquid charges for the cheapest unlimited package in both countries:
- Fibre Home Lite 5 @5Mbps (Zambia) – K600 (US$23.13)
- FibroniX Family Entertainment @100Mbps (Zimbabwe) – Z$2,059,420 (from US$189 to US$317)
- Please feel free to click on the Orange text and that will take you to Liquid’s product pages where you can verify the prices I quoted
Note: the Zimbabwean package boasts much higher speeds, however, 99% of the population would switch to a cheaper package at lower speeds if such an option was available. Heck, until late 2023, Liquid topped its capped packages at 10Mbps because they said people didn’t really need or utilise higher speeds. So, it’s a mystery why there is no $23-5Mbps package in Zim.
Also note: the Zimbabwean package has a range of prices because of the currency situation. The $189 figure comes from using the most generous black market rate of 1:10900 whilst the $317 comes from using the official rate.
Having said all that, you can see just how much more expensive it is in Zimbabwe. The $23 that gets you unlimited data in Zambia is only good for 40GB in Zimbabwe. It’s probably because Zimbabwe is landlocked, I’m sure.
We won’t even look at capped packages because there are none in Zambia. I mean, when the cheapest unlimited one is $23, there really isn’t need for a cheaper fibre package.
The other competition
Here is what some of the competition in both countries charge for their cheapest uncapped fibre, ADSL and 5G packages:
- TelOne (Zimbabwe) – Intense @20Mbps – Z$2018750 (US$185 to US$311 – pretty much the same as Liquid Zimbabwe)
- Zamtel (Zambia) – Unlimited FTTX Fibre @5Mbps – K649 (US$25.02)
- Zamtel (Zambia) – Unlimited ADSL @1Mbps – K990 (US$38.16)
- Telco (Zimbabwe) – no unlimited option listed on their site. The 100GB package @ 5Mbps costs US$126.50
- Utande (Zimbabwe) – Business Standard @15Mbps – US$145
- MTN (Zambia) – 5G Uncapped – K999 (US$38.51)
In all these, the Zimbabwean internet providers are much more expensive. I guess it’s the landlocked thing again.
What of mobile?
This article is getting too long and the mobile story is even longer and so let’s leave that for next time.
When we tackle mobile data prices we will consider usage habits. We know that many Zimbos only purchase social media bundles and the daily and weekly ones at that. We will look at all those and compare that to what the landlocked Zambians get.
Landlocked as an excuse
In all this, our data prices in Zimbabwe are affected by our landlocked status but that’s just one small piece to the puzzle of expensive data. We do know that some landlocked countries have agreements with neighbouring coastal countries for direct cable landings.
Instead of throwing around excuses, shouldn’t the Ministry of ICT’s main agenda include striking deals like that with Mozambique and South Africa that lead to much lower costs for our ISPs?
That said, many in this sector will tell you that the main reason for high broadband prices in Zimbabwe is that there isn’t much competition in the terrestrial fibre space.
The major players who have the cables that bring the internet to Zimbabwe from the sea are Liquid and TelOne and their charging practices leave a lot to be desired.
So, sometimes we hurl insults at Econet, NetOne and Telecel when Liquid and TelOne deserve most of the blame.
We are not oblivious to the fact that their fibre networks cost money to install but it costs Liquid just as much to lay fibre in Zambia as it does in Zimbabwe. So, why do they charge so much more here?
That’s what we need to look at because as much as I’m convinced that they are overcharging, I also cannot dispute that there are some unique features of their Zimbabwean operations that lead to the vast differences.
We shall have to look into this in detail too.
Also read:
- With the recent ZW$ data tariff hikes in mind, what’s cheaper to pay with – USD or ZW$ now?
- POTRAZ says Zim has cheapest data in region, viral video says most expensive in world. Who’s the liar?
- Unfortunately, you can’t escape Zim’s high data prices by roaming on South African lines
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