NetOne gets $65 million for network expansion

The Exim Bank of China has released $65 million for NetOne's network expansion. The money, which is a 30 percent deposit of the total credit facility, was released to Huawei International of China, a company contracted to undertake the network expansion.

NetOne managing director Reward Kangai said it is a down payment that will enable the contractor to start manufacturing the telecommunications equipment including towers and base stations.

This will see NetOne, with 3.3 million subscribers, expanding its network capacity to accommodate more users and improve voice quality and data speeds going up to 4G technology.

Government signed a concessional loan agreement with China Exim Bank worth $218.9 million for NetOne's network expansion under the company's Phase II Project.

The loan agreement carries an interest rate of 2 percent per annum and is payable over a period of 20 years.

NetOne has opened an escrow account where it will deposit repayments.