Zimbabwe mobile sector grows as data usage surges

Zimbabwe's mobile telecommunications sector recorded steady growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, underpinned by rising data consumption, increased voice traffic and continued investment in network infrastructure, according to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe.

Active mobile subscriptions rose by 2.11% to 16.78 million from 16.43 million in the previous quarter, pushing mobile penetration to 107.04% — an indication of widespread access to mobile services across the country.

Market leader Econet Wireless Zimbabwe strengthened its dominance, growing its subscriber base by 2.56% to over 12.37 million users. NetOne posted modest growth of 0.95%, while Telecel Zimbabwe recorded a slight decline of 0.58% in subscriptions, continuing its downward trend.

Voice traffic registered one of the strongest gains, rising 9.04% to 5.07 billion minutes. Econet drove much of the increase with an 11.09% jump, while NetOne and Telecel saw declines. POTRAZ attributed the growth to competitive voice bundles that continue to stimulate both on-net and inter-network calling.

"The robust increase in total mobile traffic is primarily driven by significant growth in on-net and interconnect traffic," the regulator said, noting that these segments remain the backbone of national voice usage.

Inbound roaming traffic also rose during the period, suggesting increased activity by foreign visitors using local networks during the holiday season.

In contrast, SMS usage continued its decline, falling 3.49% to 2.77 billion messages, largely due to reduced on-net messaging. However, international incoming SMS traffic rose by 12.21%, partially offsetting the drop.

Mobile internet usage saw the most significant growth, with traffic surging 11.27% to 160.33 petabytes. The increase reflects a broader shift toward data-driven services, with platforms such as WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook accounting for a large share of usage, alongside high-bandwidth applications like TikTok, Instagram and Netflix.

Econet maintained the largest share of data traffic, although NetOne recorded the fastest growth at 18.5%. Telecel, meanwhile, experienced a sharp decline of over 20% in data usage.

Financially, mobile operators reported a 6.33% increase in revenue to ZWG 7.74 billion. However, operating costs rose faster at 11.52%, pushing the sector's cost-to-income ratio to nearly 60% and highlighting mounting profitability pressures.

Capital expenditure more than doubled to ZWG 1.08 billion, signalling aggressive investment in infrastructure. During the quarter, 47 new 5G base stations were deployed, bringing the national total to 366. Expansion also continued across LTE, 3G and 2G networks.

Econet remained ahead in infrastructure rollout, particularly in urban areas, while NetOne made gains in expanding coverage in underserved regions. Telecel showed limited progress, reflecting ongoing operational constraints.

Nationwide, about 18.9% of the population — mainly in urban centres — now has access to 5G services, while rural 3G coverage reached 73.7%, underscoring efforts to bridge the digital divide.

Employment in the mobile sector stood at 2,257 workers during the quarter.

In the fixed telephony segment, subscriptions edged up 0.92% to 304,383 lines, while fixed VoIP services grew by 3.15%, pointing to a gradual shift toward internet-based communication.

Overall, the latest figures highlight a sector increasingly driven by data consumption, with operators investing heavily in next-generation technologies to meet evolving consumer demand.