HARARE: Zimbabwe’s leading mobile network provider Econet Wireless (Econet) — whose revenues and profits significantly dropped last year—lost 3,3% subscriber market share to its main competitor NetOne last year as the state-owned operator’s US$219 million Chinese-funded expansion project bears fruit, an official report shows.
NetOne got a US$218,9 million loan from China Exim Bank to fund its expansion project. Latest information obtained from the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) report for the fourth quarter of 2015 shows the country’s smallest mobile network operator, Telecel, also lost subscriber market share to NetOne during the year.
According to Potraz, Econet’s subscriber market share stood at 55,8% in the first quarter of 2015 before dropping to 55,5% in the second quarter of the year. Econet’s market share went down 1,6 percentage points in the third quarter of 2015 to 53,9% before sliding further to close the year at 52,5%.
Losses were also recorded at Telecel. The company opened 2015 with 17% of market share, closing the year at 15,1%, while NetOne grew from 26,7% in the first quarter of 2016 to close the year at 32,4%. NetOne registered the highest growth in active subscribers between the third and final quarter of 2015 at 8,8%, while its two rivals both registered a modest 0,3% increase in active subscribers during the same period.
