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NewsDay

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Telecel in 3G service phase two

Telecommunications
More Telecel Zimbabwe subscribers will now be able to access data service as the company embarks on the second phase of its 3G services preparatory pilot project. “We are embarking on the next stage of our pilot project during which we will be extending data access to all customers and charging for the service at […]

More Telecel Zimbabwe subscribers will now be able to access data service as the company embarks on the second phase of its 3G services preparatory pilot project.

“We are embarking on the next stage of our pilot project during which we will be extending data access to all customers and charging for the service at the rate of 10 cents per megabyte on a pay-as-you-go basis.

“The data services charge will be deducted from the customer’s normal pre-paid air time balance,” said Telecel in a statement released over the weekend.

Telecel has been providing free data services to a limited number of customers as a way of testing its 3G system.

Contract customers will be able to access the Internet and pay at the end of the month. The country’s second biggest mobile phone operator said they hoped customers would provide Telecel with feedback on how well the data services were working so they could make necessary adjustments where needed.

“This is the latest stage of our testing process prior to launching our 3G service officially. It is important, therefore, for customers to realise that this is a pilot test project.

“There will inevitably be glitches from time to time as we adjust our systems to respond to the feedback we receive from our customers. We still face challenges regarding bandwidth provisioning so service may not always be as good as we would like.”

However, Telecel said the 3G service would only be available to Harare and Bulawayo subscribers while other parts of the country would receive connection to the Internet would be via GPRS, which is slower than 3G.