The government owned internet provider, Powertel, has introduced a $30 unlimited data package, in an attempt to compete with Starlink.
The new prices will ensure Powertel is able to retain its customers assuming it does not apply low speeds and low FUP caps. Starlink though is less about prices and more about coverage.
Powertel and fellow established operators will not be able to match the growth of Starlink into under-served locations like rural areas. These companies just don’t have the infrastructure in place to compete against Starlink’s satellite technology there.
The coming of Starlink has shook up Zimbabwe’s telecoms market forcing operators to drop their prices to remain relevant. Econet was first with it’s SmartBiz packages
Starlink itself is struggling with demand in the urban areas in Harare where Zimbabweans have quickly taken up all capacity available. This reality will buy some time for other internet providers to catch up to the reality of the disruptive innovation that Starlink is.
97 comments
The new prices will ensure Powertel is able to retain its customers assuming it does not apply low speeds and low FUP caps. Starlink though is less about prices and more about coverage.
Starlink always the best option. ๐
Telone should reduce prices as well to $20 unlimited @5Mbps.I will work with that, thats all I need zvimwe zvese ratova drama.
5mbps is slow mate, are you sure, and the quality of their fiber is not as good as liquid or dandemutande
Haaa 5mbps is slow cde haaaaa๐
starlink the way to go
Is Starling really now operational is Zimbabwe.
One minute yes and the next we hear Govt has banned Starling.
What really is the position before one invests in sunken costs- paying for kits which will not work!!!
STARLING* is not banned and is working in Zimbabwe. Only two resellers were banned from selling the kits
How much is starlink
373usf if you buy ne visa on the official website
I bought the mini kit for $223
I bought the mini kit for $223
So in other words, they were profiteering? We have been taken for granted for all these years. Bye bye
True unless u are an organization or a content creator uploading gigabytes to YouTube then starlink is no use to the regular person
It’s very much useful if you’re used to being f*ed by Econet and it’s fellows, with excruciatingly low speed, network outage and expensive bundles.
if you’ve ever tried to stream a football match on your smart TV, while downloading a game on your PC as well as using your phone on the internet, then you’ll see that 5mb/s is the bottom of the barrel.
basic internet speeds should start around 15-20mb/s IMO
Amen to that
We need faster speeds. Otherwise ๐ฎ๐ฎ
how fast is this powertel
Super fast especially in Braeside/Hillside & Nehosho Gweru
They say the closer you are to the substation the better the speeds of you are kachana ma1 ako by default
Superfast as in? Please put up a speed test. So we can see the superfast speeds which i do not believe.
I have been to Zambia and Malawi of late and I was impressed by the service delivery of Internet services. I wondered how Zimbabweans are putting up with the junk of a service back home. Portraz was too controlling and restrictive and I could not foresee Zimbabwe progressing in the ICT sector.
Well, it’s just the beginning of the benefit of starlink entry. In a month tinenge taona kuti isu vasinga affordi starlink toenda papi.
You can say that again, ngavarambe vachidzikisa then tozoona kuti totora service ipi
Powertel had the daily and weekly Unlimited internet packages in 2016 at the same prices as they are telling us now. The only difference from 2016 September is that their monthly unlimited was $40 which they have changed to match Starlink, and they have added the 50cents Unlimited valid for just one hour!
Did they have wait for a serious competitor to readvetise their tariffs?
It will be a mammoth task for Powertel to match Starlink. Yes they have reduced their prices to $30 for unlimited internet. However they are failing to serve most of the urban areas, for instance where i live, Powertel services are only confined in the CBD and areas proximity to the CBD, they don’t serve the ghetto.
They have to put more effort to match Starlink which serves places as deep as Chemagora in Gokwe
Well said Mr. Mann
Why are us Liquid not slashing their prices? Is it not a subsidiary of Econet apa the way their data finishes it is unacceptable
Uku ndekwe gwikwi. Kuno chohwa chohwa tambo dze network, haku mihwe mihwe
Imi tiri kutaura zve internet Imi mukutaura zvekuchohwa chohwa bhooo herr
But is it ethical business practice for the telecoms companies in Zimbabwe to start reacting with the lowering of prices now, simply because Starlink has landed on the Zimbabwe market? Have their existing costs disappeared? Be aware of creamers
The market had stagnated with no innovation, it was just copy and paste. Now, they are forced to compete with a world class company and the prices start falling because they have seen there is demand for Starlink even with high upfront costs.
Really speaks about the pricing in our market, not understanding the value of the USD and small profit quicker returns.
If Telecel comes up with 6Mbps unlimited internet for $15-$20 they may regain those 3 million subscribers back, but it won’t be over night. It will take a lot of marketing and sales effort to reattract lost subscribers while assuming the other networks rest on their laurels.
Exciting times for the long suffering Zimbabwean customer, may the competition bring out our best side. ๐ฟ๐ผ
How much is Powertel’s kit?
Well they are only available in some parts of Harare only, so its nothing to talk about. Probably just trying to get relevance in these hard times๐คฃ
To Staff Writer :
1. powetel inoshandisika ne sim or inotoda kit ye router ne modem
2. coverage irisei
3. Speeeed irisei
4. Ko africom takambonzwa kuti ine unlimited broadband yekuma 25-35 monthly.
5. How is econet smartbiz so far with the 5mbps limit.
The article is meaningless without that kind of information.
Alot of information is missing, please find out the important information first that will help us.
The best Voltron was the one with the Lions. The one with the cars was not as great, and the CGI remake was even worse.
We used to run from school on Fridays to catch Voltron and Robotec, you have taken me back.
Witch: Bring out the Robeast.. Kkkk ๐ซ๐ช
They wonโt match Starlink, no matter what circumstances, because they wonโt offer 100Mbps for $30. The installation will likely be more expensive than the Starlink Mini kit. Regardless, they wonโt be able to provide a stable network until the countryโs electricity outages are resolved.
True
Sha they said the speed of starlink goes up to 250mbps its not a secret, our can go up to a gigabit per second
We can bring starlink and our fibre hear and do the test ours is faster
Why would you invest in a technology that are not all weather friendly, and it was omitted from the article, the problem ndeyekuti pano panotengeswa starlink
Haiwawo vaivepi kare kese tichitambura ne network. Starlink is here to stay zvana power chakadaro kudhara. Nyika dzine network kwayo dziri zii
Tozoudzwa zvema speeds ekushamisira nhasi. Vaimbovepi all along. They should let the customers speed for them not sounding their own horn. That press conference was a show of panic and unpreparedness. Peak 1 Gigabit speeds at their base stations are meaningless if they can’t be sustained for the customers. Toda kuona Gigabit speed for their most remote customer.
People forget Starlink launched on a platform of ‘Better than nothing’. In a functioning country within a domestic setting, it’s either a backup connection or a remote area connection. The poor quality and exploitative state of our ISPs is what is driving the crazy demand for starlink despite technical limitations compared to peak fibre. Gigabit is pie in the sky when there is no fibre in your hood. And even if you do have fibre, if cost and performance doesn’t meet expectations, what’s the point when starlink is right there?
Desperate times calls for desperate measures ๐
Powertel ma 1 …. I used to have their dongle and sim card and they discontinued the service in 2021 claiming to be upgrading to LTE. Up until now they seem not to have done so 3 years later. The speeds were very slow often with interruptions that would last even a week.
I have never used their fibre before but I think it could be expensive to install especially kuma ghetto but let’s hope the speeds are good.
if its fibre and 40Mbps or higher (up & down) , with no silly FUP/throttling, then maybe its an option @ 30 per month in real money. Even 300GB per month @ 40Mbps or better @ $30 might also be an option for me….
But their coverage is very limited to low density areas in Harare only.
these established providers will just have to up their game quickly or they lose out more
Starlink has set the maximum affordable data price and speed, anyone who will offer unlimited data must no go above $50, good move from Powertel @$30 ,now we wait for Telone for $25 unlimited ๐คฃ๐คฃ
LOL, great name kkkk
๐๐powertel ichiriko kk??
The lines are usually not available. I have 2 modems with lines that stopped working when I travelled briefly out of the country .so to me it’s too little too late
All along they had been robbing us by giving us a raw deal with poor speeds. Disruptive innovation yakanaka chose and it has awaken them but unfortunately its too late, starlink huchi
Kkkkk tsano
Aizve ko Starlink vuchi zve ๐
Is powertel still in business do they now have lines? Last time i enquired vaivhaira zvavo vanhu ava, kutoti hatina malines and never expect to have anything because we dont expect any lines in future, apa I used to pay 50US everymonth kunyengerera that tortoise speed internet. Haaaa Starlink yakagonesa chaizvo makauya in good time. Pasi nevanhu vanotibira mari dzedu
I don’t know why our companies show off to paying customers?
Telone pa Town Center it was the same issue. No lines, come check again. Then a guy who works at Telone came, they opened the vault and sold him a line.
How much is router $120 ko mifi $80. If we shop around in town a roiter is $40 and mifi $15. A lerger organisation that wants to attract subscribers can even give out routers for free in a promotion and tie you down for life.
Its good to see customers getting power back, now we will see the good executives and the not so good ones, profit vs loss, you decide.
Stay away from starlink if you rely heavily on torrents. If you care at all about online privacy Telone is still the best option. If you do use starlink be prepared to use a VPN for any โillegalโ or questionable activity.
Inini hangu i’m staying away. Local is lekker, plus the small issue of torrents kinda makes it a hard sell. Your account can be closed because a customer, guest or a child downloaded the wrong thing, it will just keep my BP up for no reason. 5Mbps $15-$20 per month is more than enough for us budget users. Tozo’ona Starlink kana tapihwa minda nemusangano.
Starlink is good it’s way better than econet and other Internet service providers
Stay away from starlink if you rely heavily on torrents. If you care at all about online privacy Telone is still the best option. If you do use starlink be prepared to use a VPN for any โillegalโ or questionable activity.
Starlink yekubasa haisati yavharwa but we are downloading ma Albums pa Torrent and softwares in matter of minutes zvaititorera the whole business day
Econet has high potential of dethroning Starlink. They smart biz can go up to 250Mbps. I have tested these speeds in realtime. When its slow it was 120Mbps it was until they slashed the speed down to 5mbps, Imagine how it feels after coming from 250Mbps to 5Mbps. Econet needs to take just 1 step. Uncap the Speeds and we have better mobile internet than starlink which is not portable though it is technically mobile
Who made starlink king, econet has superior technologies and a bigger subscriber base, you cannot compare the two,
We need affordable data
Powertel said
He said the speed of starlink goes up to 250mbps its not a secret, our can go up to a gigabit per second
We can bring starlink and our fibre hear and do the test ours is faster
Why would you invest in a technology that are not all weather friendly
Techzim this was the meat of the news but you chose to omit because you have become advertisers and sellers of starlink equipment so you have lost your objectivity, you are compromised, why haven’t you mentioned to your poor readers that fiber is better and satellite is hear to save remote areas, you cant because that will hurt your business
๐๐๐
20Mbps Fibre @$150 is better but its not affordable because there are people who earn less than $100 per month.
Let’s wait and see. This will have an impact on everything
All hype. Starlink complements the already existing players not to outcompete with them. If it was the case then in USA AT&T would have felt the pressure.
Technologies used by Starlink do not require a lot of pple to connect to a satellite as opposed to base stations.
An example use case is Telecel will use Starlink infrastructure were they do not have strong connections and offer a service to customers just like what TelOne and Econet do.
So Ma zimbos we are missing the point here.
They did feel the pressure. They were eating taxpayer money in subsidies every year for nothing and sitting on collective billions in infrastructure funds from government, milking the projects for everything they could get. Starlink made those ISPs and mobile providers get a little serious when they saw all that free money potentially and neglected markets going away.
Vachadzikisa havo kusvika kana mu10 chaimo
Will go for power tell to me it’s 100%
Will go for power tell to me it’s 100%
Kind of confirms that the pricing was always exorbitant and customers have a long memory.
But if speed and service is good… that’s good…. I hope there’s no catch.
Kkkk looks like they will just have to share territories throughout the country, starlink territory, smartbiz territory, zol territory but zol is already geo locked so there’s that. coz I don’t think they can retain customers and offer quality service at the same time
How come our opposition leaders don’t get robbed and beaten?
Easy money.
Crossroads ๐ vs ๐ฟ
Easy, Shakespeare in Love, Tsosti, Gladiator, that one about the frog man got best sound, because war is loud, female director, Lord of the Rings, first time a CGI character an Oscar.
Now writing half of Cloud Cukoo Land. CGI
Kids rebel at an overally strict school. They choose to go to live with the birds in Cloud Cukoo.
Are the birds intentions benign, we will have to find out.
All ages
Kukanda hove mudziva๐
Nyami Nyami how long has it been since you saw your babe?๐ฒ๐
Kariva touya ikoko. Free country โ
Pamusorio sekuru ndiri muzukuru. Bhurugwa rangu rekwa Dunge rasakara. Bhurungwa rangu rechiZezuru
Parachute or G String ๐๐
Is powertel in Zimbabwe?
Everyone, please try using the apktofu.com website. I feel like I can download a lot of good games and apps from that website
Our ISP vaitidzvanyirira kubva kare especially*….* satori matsostsi thanks to start link
Some fun a day keeps the doctor away.
Just skip past them, easy fix.
ChrisFixIt ๐ง
What’s the startup cost for powertel?
The Techzim guys have exhausted all the Starlink news. It seems like if there is nothing relating to Starlink they have nothing to write. Tipei hedu news dze car technology
Which link should I use
Which link should I use
Taita makuhwa nevashandi. ๐๐
Vakapfeka ma apron. Ah, ndine lodge vasikana vanenge vakapfeka ma mini skirt e black. Nema court shoe, nema pulling socks asina kuladha. Ne ndimba pa ghedi.
$20 is a fair price for lodgings, nekuti munenge makanaka, the bar will have whatever you need, and Starlink to call home if you need.
Government should open up the market like they did in telecom’s and never protect any industry so that consumers benefit. Remove all barriers to trade
Powertel’s decision to slash internet prices is fantastic news for consumers! Matching Starlink’s offerings with a $30 unlimited package is a game-changer in the market. This competition will likely lead to better services and pricing for everyone. Excited to see how this impacts internet accessibility!
Hi please reduce your prices up to 2000 per month from there people will demand more please. Coz people ask me about it please reduce money
Good move we also need same competition in mobile network operators it gives consumers choices