By Technomag
Zimbabwe internet subscribers have continued to rise recording 8.7 million subscriptions, the Potraz 4th Quarter Abridged Report has revealed.
An annual comparison reveals that active internet subscriptions in 2017 were 6.9 million and by the year end of 2018 they had risen to 8.7 million recording a 25% increase on internet subscriptions. As a result, internet penetration rose from 50.8% in 2017 to 62.9% thereby recording a 12% increase in growth.
According to Potraz, internet and data usage has grown consistently over the years since 2012 to 2018. And the diagram below shows the drastic increase over the years;
Moreover, the 4th Quarter Abridged Report revealed that data and internet services will continue to grow and it is expected to be the main contributor to telecoms revenue as consumption continues to rise.
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Demand for internet services in the country is also expected to continue growing as “internet coverage , variety of services and availability and accessibility of devices improves,” said Potraz.
Mobile internet and data usage increased by 15,7% to record 7,395TB from 6,104TB recorded in the third quarter of 2018.
“Mobile internet and data usage has been consistently increasing during the course of the years, there was an overall decline in mobile revenues vis-à-vis a growth in operating costs during the quarter under review.”Potraz said.
To date, 8 805 base stations have been erected countrywide to cater for 2G, 3G and LTE. There are 4 943 (2G) base stations, 2 856 (3G) base stations and 1006 LTE base stations as at 31 December 2018 thereby improving network coverage and quality.