Local mobile network giant Econet Wireless has adjusted its data tariffs again as it tries to keep pace with the increasing cost of doing business in Zimbabwe, which threatens business viability and dim the telco industry’s prospects.
The latest tariff adjustment which, however, is still within what was approved by regulator Potraz, will see data and SMS bundle tariffs go up by a modest 15 to 20% for some selected bundles.
Prices of goods and services in Zimbabwe have been going up, making it inevitable for mobile business to try and share the increments with consumers.
Electricity which is used to power mobile network operators’ base stations last week went up by 320%, while the already expensive and scarce substitute, diesel, saw its price go up by approximately 29% to $15.64 per litre in just about a week.
The exchange rate used to import software and hardware for telcos was also under pressure, as it has significantly weakened in the last couple of weeks.
The Econet tariff changes appear to be more like a bundle realignment, with the addition of stand-alone Sasai bundles.
SASAI is an integrated social payments platform that combines Payments, Chat and Entertainment services on one single App. It is available on Google Play store and the Apple App Store.
SASAI weekly bundles can be accessed for as low as $5.
Econet’s Daily data bundles were also remodeled, with the 180MB bundle, which previously cost $9, now replaced by 150MB bundle costing $10.
The daily 1.5GB at $30 has now been replaced by a 1.2GB bundle at $35.
The weekly and monthly bundle pricing remained largely unchanged.
