Category: Connectivity
Econet data outage caused by core network “incident”. MNO says service is back up
This afternoon (towards the early evening), social media and WhatsApp were awash with reports of an Econet data outage. Customers were reporting that mobile internet services went dark for most of the late afternoon, while others were saying service was intermittent. We reached out to Econet when we reported the mobile data outage and they […]
What’s going on with Econet’s mobile internet services
We have been seeing reports that Econet mobile internet services went completely off sometime this afternoon. It’s unclear at the moment if this is a nationwide blackout because there are some people who responded to our call on Twitter saying that Econet mobile data was working on their end. Whatsapp groups are also alight with […]
Liquid Home customer support will be understaffed tomorrow
Liquid Home has, in an SMS, notified customers that they will be operating with fewer customer support staff over tomorrow. The message from Liquid Home reads as follows: Dear CustomerOn 16/6/22 our Contact Centre will operate with skeletal staff & resume normal operations on 17/6/22. For self-help visit: https://bit.ly/3zs8F6z Liquid Home vis SMS This message […]
Utande has capped LTE bundles in Byo, Mutare & Chitungwiza. No love for Harare…
While we were in Mutare at the Hillcrest College ICT Expo and Winter Fair, we visited the Utande stand to check out what the internet service provider (ISP) had on offer for customers in the Eastern Highlands. And to our surprise, the team at Utande told us that they had LTE capped or pay-as-you-go packages […]
Hillcrest ICT Expo: drones, FOOD, rugby and supercomputers
Over the weekend, Hillcrest College hosted its annual Winter Fair and Tech Expo. The event was well attended with companies like Liquid Home Utande Old Mutual Fusertech Precision Arial Axis Solutions Zimbabwe Centre for High-Performance Computing and more exhibiting their wares in the Eastern Highlands. Students and attendants were treated to a show from all […]
Sudan shut down the internet to stop students from cheating during exams?
This is one of the strangest things I have seen in a very long time, and I am saying this as a Zimbabwean who is accustomed to the weird and wonderful that is thrown our way regularly. According to Cloudflare Sudan shut down its internet, over the weekend, to spot students from cheating during exams. […]
Starlink is hitting Mozambique & Nigeria this year. How long till we get a crack at it in Zimbabwe?
Elon Musk’s internet service provider (ISP) Starlink was approved in Mozambique and Nigeria recently according to a tweet from the man himself. According to a report by Techcrunch, Starlink’s arrival in Nigeria was said to have been in the works since 2021. The ISP got a 10-year licence that kicks off this year. For Zimbabwe, […]
Connectivity problems in your area? The govt to help you solve them yourselves through community networks
If you’re reading this then you have internet access. Count yourself amongst the fortunate in Zimbabwe. The latest figures from POTRAZ say the country’s internet penetration rate stood at 62.3% in Q3 2021. 62.3% may not sound too bad but consider that over 90% of internet usage in the country is via mobile data and […]
ZOL is now officially Liquid Home & has 60 new LTE base stations
ZOL, today unveiled its new brand identity – Liquid Home Zimbabwe. This rebrand follows the evolution of Liquid Telecom becoming Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a business of Cassava Technologies. ZOL was the only arm of Liquid that hadn’t yet come under the new brand umbrella. ZOL to become “Liquid Home” in the not too distant future […]
NetOne e-top up system back up after over 32 hours downtime
NetOne’s e-top up system went down from around midnight on Tuesday the 3rd of May and stayed down the whole of Wednesday, only to come back up around 8am on Thursday. What was going on? Well, good luck finding out. Like in almost all similar cases all we are told is something along the lines […]
Telco at ZITF 2022: solar equipment, internet packages & mobile computer lab
Renewable energy and internet connectivity were what defined Telco at ZITF 2022. The company, which is one of the oldest internet service providers, brought all it has to offer to this year’s edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair. The team that Telco sent to ZITF 2022 was kind enough to give us a tour […]
Holding OpenView decoders makes you liable to arrest. Why do Zimbabweans still do it?
I think in some crazy way, entertainment is a human right. Whilst I have the superhero skill of being able to sit in the dark, doing nothing and thinking about even less happily, I still appreciate a good book, an intense thriller or an experimental album. Once you have watched a series like Yellowstone and […]
Econet brings 5G to Bulawayo at ZITF2022
The country’s largest mobile network operator, Econet yesterday launched its 5G service in Bulawayo at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF2022). This was at the company’s very impressive ZITF2022 installation which dwarfed what was in the main hall, we even started chucking figures, guessing as to how much Econet paid to reserve such a large […]
ISP Spotting at ZITF2022: WE FOUND ZODSAT!!!!!
For those who have been around Techzim for a while the name, ZODSAT won’t be a new one. They have been around for a while and offer VSAT services much like TelOne, Liquid Home and Utande. We got a chance to talk to the team they sent to Bulawayo about what they have been up […]
If TelOne was in the UK, customers would get USD11.00 a day for an internet outage
Yesterday TelOne announced that one of its fibre lines was damaged by an excavator that sunk into the ground causing an internet outage in some suburbs. The situation was complicated by a water line the digger also hit which meant that there were two problems to contend with to restore service. While browsing on the […]
TelOne customers, a stuck digger is the reason why you don’t have internet
State-owned telecommunications company TelOne has announced to its customers in some suburbs in Harare that if they were experiencing an internet outage it is because of a construction accident that damaged a fibre cable. TelOne’s statement on the internet outage caused by the fibre break reads as follows: TelOne sincerely apologises for service disruption in […]
Your router’s okay, it’s Liquid Home (ZOL)’s network that’s down: a rant on service disruptions
I know there might be someone who just got fibre and is furious right now. There is intermittent service on Liquid Home’s network right now and they have acknowledged it. I promise, this is not the norm, clearly something is wrong. You may have missed the notice. Said Liquid Home, Important Notice: Service Degradation Please […]
Google subsea cable lands in Africa, to improve internet speeds and lower costs
Sub-Saharan Africa is the least connected region in the world. GSMA research shows that only 28% of the population used mobile internet in 2020. Lucky for us, there is some investment going into changing that. Unfortunately for us, we aren’t bothered to do it ourselves, instead relying on American companies to step in. Google says […]
Utande will soon be billing LTE packages in USD
Dandemutande subsidiary Utande Internet Services has announced through an email to customers that it will be billing its LTE packages in USD from the first of April 2022. The statement from Utande/Dandemutande’s CEO Never Ncube to customers reads as follows: Dear Valued Customer, We hope this letter finds you well. We consider your choosing Utande […]
Ukraine got Starlink satellite internet. Can the Russians attack it?
You don’t need telling that there is a war situation between Russia and Ukraine. There was tension between the countries and last week the Russians invaded Ukraine. Missiles were launched, bombs thrown and all the usual war stuff. This military activity disrupted Ukraine’s internet and as you know, the internet as a communication enabler and […]
Internet throttled during Yellow Sunday plus 10% internet tax is bad for Zimbabwe
Netblocks, the watchdog organisation that monitors cybersecurity and governance of the internet, reported yesterday that Zimbabwe’s internet services degraded or were being throttled during the Citizens Coalition For Change’s (CCC) Yellow Sunday Rally. “Network data from NetBlocks confirm a significant slowing of internet service for many users in Zimbabwe on Sunday 20 February 2022, as […]
Free 10GB data per month for South Africans and 10% price increases for Zimbabweans
Sometimes you marvel at just how differently politicians and govt officials from different countries think. I feel like the South Africans are just mocking/exposing us right now. In the same week where we saw an excise tax of 10% lead to more expensive fixed internet in Zimbabwe, we hear that South Africans will be getting […]
10% internet tax: the Techzim community has its say
This evening (14/02/2022) we held a Twitter Space to talk about the 10% Excise Duty or Tax that will be levied on internet packages and VOIP services. The news was communicated by ZOL Zimbabwe in an email to customers and we were joined by our community on Twitter to go over it and the impact […]
ZOL to start charging 10% tax on internet packages next month!
ZOL Zimbabwe, soon to be Liquid Home, has announced that the rebranding exercise will be coupled with a 10% Excise Duty or tax across all internet and VOIP packages. Dear Valued Customer, As a result of the regulatory changes, ZOL Zimbabwe is required to levy a 10% Excise duty across all internet and VoIP packages […]
Cassava appoints new Africa Data Centres CEO
Cassava Technologies has today announced that it has appointed Tesh Durvasula as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Africa Data Centres (ADC) effective 7 February 2022. He will be responsible for driving growth, innovation and strategy of Cassava Technologies’ data centres to meet Africa’s accelerating demand for data and digital infrastructure. “At Cassava Technologies […]
Elon Musk’s Starlink launches Premium US$500 for 500Mbps package
Elon Musk’s VSAT internet service provider Starlink announced a new high-performance tier called Starlink Premium according to a report by The Verge. The package sports a larger antenna that will reportedly get users between 150Mbps to 500Mbps with 20 to 40ms latency. All of this doesn’t come cheap though because the package costs US$2,500 for […]
ZOL to become Liquid Home starting March 2022
“T’was a matter of when not if” is probably what most of you are saying because ZOL becoming Liquid Home is something that has been in the rumour mill since around 2012 when the latter acquired the former. We got some confirmation of this last year when Liquid Telecom rebranded to become Liquid Intelligent Technologies. […]
Powertel customers! Here’s why your internet has been down for MONTHS
So… it looks like Powertel’s CDMA internet services have been down for some time. A member of the Techzim community reached out to us saying that they contacted Powertel in November 2021 and were told that CDMA internet was down due to an “upstream fault” and there was no timeline for the restoration of service. […]
Liquid is providing free internet for Mbare Arts Centre
Wellington Makamure, Liquid Intelligent Technologies’ Regional CEO of Southern Africa, speaks about technology as an enabler for solving social problems and how the organisation is leveraging it to bring real-world impact Zimbabwe, like many African countries, faces significant issues such as lack of access to connectivity, healthcare, energy, education, etc. On the other hand, nearly […]
Cassava Technologies signs deal with Japanese firm to further Africa Data Centres
Cassava Technologies has today announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mitsui & Co., Ltd (Mitsui), one of Japan’s largest global conglomerates. Cassava Technologies and Mitsui share the common vision of facilitating digital transformation across Africa. The partnership will bring together the technology, expertise and networks of both organizations to […]