Market leaders in the mobile telecommunications sector, Econet Wireless has widened its gap with major competitors, NetOne and Telecel after recording a 1.5% increase in subscribers, according to the recently released POTRAZ 3rd Quarter Sector Performance report.
The report shows that Econet gained 51.7% market share in mobile subscribers ahead of NetOne which is sitting at 35.3% and Telecel trailing with 13%.
These recent statistics shows that Econet has gained 1.5% market share from the previous 50.2% recorded in the previous quarter to sit at 51.7%. The positive index for Econet inversely signaled a fall in number of subscribers for NetOne whose mobile users fell from 36.4% to 35.3% while Telecel’s subscribers fell to 13% from the previous 13.4%
This figure shows distribution of Mobile Subscribers with Econet leading NetOne & Telecel
Econet’s surge ahead of competition also saw its voice traffic increasing by 0.8% to reach 80.9% from the previous 80.1%. The gain however came at a cost for NetOne and Telecel who lost 0.3% and 0.5% respectively.
The figure shows Econet gaining Voice Traffic ahead of NetOne & Telecel who inversely recorded falls in voice calls.
Increase in market share also came with awakened revenue streams for Econet like SMS whose traffic has been dwindling in the previous years due to the rise of Over-The-Top Services like Whatsapp, Skype, Facebook etc. In this quarter, Econet realized a 4% increase in SMS traffic to record 88.4% from the previous 84.4%.
Econet’s gain in SMS traffic came at a cost for NetOne and Telecel who lost 1.6% & 2.4%, respectively. This shows an increase in market value for Econet after successfully reviving the once dying revenue streams like Voice and SMS.
The figures shows a 4% gain for Econet in SMS traffic ahead of NetOne & Telecel who inversely recorded shortfalls.
Econet’s increasing market value saw Zimbabwe’s mobile telecommunications revenue totaling $224.8 million in the third quarter of 2017. This represents a 21.1% growth from $185.6 million recorded in the previous quarter.
The increase in overall operator revenue is attributable to the growth in Internet and data usage as well as mobile money services. The aggregate Average Revenue per User per month increased by 10.8% to record $4.41 from $3.98 recorded in the previous quarter.
The rest of the POTRAZ Sector Performance report reflects that total operating costs declined by 6.3% to record $123.2 million from $131.5 million recorded in the previous quarter. The decline in operating costs is a result of efforts by the mobile operators to cut down operating expenditure.
The aggregate Average Cost per User per month declined by 9.3% to record $2.72 from $3 recorded in the previous quarter.
