POSTAL AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF ZIMBABWE

(POTRAZ)

ANNUAL POSTAL AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

SECTOR PERFORMANCE REPORT

2024

Disclaimer:
This report has been prepared based on data provided by service providers. The information
provided in this Annual report is subject to alteration in case of any revisions or updates from
the service providers. Although every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the data
contained in this report, the Authority is not liable for the inaccuracy of any information.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A NOTE TO READERS ............................................................................................................................... 4
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... 5
2. SUBSCRIPTIONS & PENETRATION RATES ............................................................................................ 8
2.1 FIXED ......................................................................................................................................................................... 8
2.2 MOBILE ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9
2.3 INTERNET/DATA .............................................................................................................................................. 11
3. TRAFFIC AND USAGE PATTERNS ....................................................................................................... 12
3.1 VOICE TRAFFIC .................................................................................................................................................. 12
3.2 MOBILE INTERNET & DATA TRAFFIC ..................................................................................................... 13
3.3 USED INTERNATIONAL INTERNET BANDWIDTH CAPACITY ....................................................... 14
3.4 POSTAL & COURIER VOLUMES ................................................................................................................... 15
4. REVENUES, COSTS & INVESTMENTS ................................................................................................. 16
4.1 FIXED TELEPHONY REVENUE, COSTS & INVESTMENT ................................................................... 16
4.2 MOBILE .................................................................................................................................................................. 17
4.3 IAP REVENUES, COSTS & INVESTMENT.................................................................................................. 19
4.4 POSTAL & COURIER ......................................................................................................................................... 21
5. TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE ..................................................................................... 21
5.1 MOBILE BASE STATIONS ............................................................................................................................... 21
6. INTERNATIONAL INTERNET BANDWIDTH ......................................................................................... 23
7. EMPLOYMENT ................................................................................................................................... 23
7.1 MOBILE NETWORK OPERATORS: .............................................................................................................. 24
7.2 INTERNET ACCESS PROVIDERS......................................................................................................... 24
7.3 FIXED NETWORK .............................................................................................................................................. 25
7.4 POSTAL & COURIER ................................................................................................................................ 25
8. OUTLOOK .......................................................................................................................................... 26

1
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Growth in Fixed Telephone Subscriptions .............................................................................. 8
Figure 2: Fixed Tele-density ................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 3: Market Share of Mobile Subscriptions .................................................................................. 10
Figure 4: Mobile penetration rate.......................................................................................................... 10
Figure 5: Internet penetration rate......................................................................................................... 11
Figure 6: International traffic ................................................................................................................ 13
Figure 7: Growth in mobile Internet & data usage ............................................................................... 13
Figure 8: International Internet Bandwidth Capacity (Mbps) ............................................................... 14
Figure 9: Postal & Courier Volumes..................................................................................................... 15
Figure 10: Fixed Telephone Revenues & Operating Costs ................................................................... 17
Figure 11: Mobile Network Revenues & Costs .................................................................................... 18
Figure 12: MNO revenue contribution by service ................................................................................ 18
Figure 13: IAP Revenues & Operating Costs ....................................................................................... 20
Figure 14: Mobile Base Stations ........................................................................................................... 22
Figure 15: Equipped International Internet Bandwidth Capacity ......................................................... 23
Figure 16: Employment by mobile network operators ......................................................................... 24
Figure 17: Employment by Internet Access Providers ......................................................................... 24
Figure 18: Employment by the fixed network ...................................................................................... 25
Figure 19: Postal & Courier employees ................................................................................................ 26

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Active Mobile Subscriptions per Operator ............................................................................... 9
Table 2: Active Internet subscriptions .................................................................................................. 11
Table 3: Mobile Voice Traffic .............................................................................................................. 12
Table 4: International Internet Bandwidth Capacity (Mbps) ................................................................ 14
Table 5: Postal & Courier Volumes ...................................................................................................... 15
Table 6: Fixed Network Revenue, Costs & Investment ........................................................................ 16
Table 7: Fixed Network Revenue, Costs & Investment (USD) ............................................................ 16
Table 8: Mobile Revenue, Operating Costs & Investment ................................................................... 17
Table 9: Mobile Revenue, Operating Costs & Investment (USD)........................................................ 17
Table 10: IAP Revenues, Costs & Investment ...................................................................................... 19
Table 11: IAP Revenues, Costs & Investment (USD) .......................................................................... 20
Table 12: Postal & Courier Revenue, Costs & Investment ................................................................... 21
Table 13: Postal & Courier Revenue, Costs & Investment (USD) ....................................................... 21
Table 14: Mobile Network Population Coverage ................................................................................. 22

2
LIST OF ACRONYMS

2G…………………………. Second Generation

3G………..............................Third Generation
ACPU…................................Average Cost per User
AMPU……………………...Average Margin per User
ARPU…................................Average Revenue per User
ADSL………………………. Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AI ……………………………Artificial Intelligence
GB…………………………. Gigabyte
IoT…………………………..Internet of Things
LTE…………………………Long Term Evolution
MB…………………………. Megabyte
Mbps………………………. Megabits per second
ML …………………………..Machine Learning
PSTN………………………. Public Switched Telephone Network
PB…………………………. Petabyte
VoIP………………………. Voice Over Internet Protocol

3
A NOTE TO READERS

The Economy adopted the Zimbabwe Gold (ZWG) as a trading currency replacing the ZWL
in April 2024. To ensure comparison of revenues, costs, and investment between 2023 and
2024, the ZWL and ZWG figures were converted to USD using average quarterly exchange
rates and summing the quarterly figures to get annual figures. The absolute nominal revenues,
costs, and investment figures in ZWL and ZWG are however still provided in this report.

4
 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report presents annual comparison on the performance of the markets within the postal
and telecommunications sector during the period 2023 to 2024. The report covers data on
subscriptions, usage traffic, infrastructure deployment, revenues, investment, and employment
in the postal and telecommunication sector. The data collected is also used by the Authority to
monitor and inform policy decisions aimed at facilitating orderly growth of these sectors. The
following trends characterised the postal and telecommunications sector in the year 2024
compared to 2023:

• Increases in mobile and Internet/data subscriptions vis-à-vis a contraction in fixed

telephony subscriptions.

The total number of active mobile subscriptions increased marginally by 4.7%, from
14,973,816 to record 15,677,094 in 2024. Resultantly, mobile penetration rate increased by
4.76 percentage points from 97.5% in 2023, to record 102.26% in 2024. Meanwhile, the total
number of active fixed telephone lines declined by 3.75%, from 309,645, to record 298,047 as
of 31 December 2024. Consequently, fixed tele-density declined by 0.06 percentage points,
from 2.0%, to reach 1.94% in 2024. The total number of active Internet/data subscriptions as
of 31 December 2024 was 12,493,098. This translates to a 11.14% increase from 11,240,969
active subscriptions recorded as of 31 December 2023. Resultantly, the Internet penetration
rate increased by 8.19 percentage points from 73.3% to 81.49% as of 31 December 2024.

• Overall growth in Internet/data usage as well as mobile voice traffic.

A total of 299.77 petabytes (PBs) of mobile Internet/data traffic were consumed in 2024. This
represents a 75.09% increase in usage, from 171.21PBs consumed in 2023. Used incoming
international Internet bandwidth capacity grew by 56.98%, from 1,320,305Mbps in 2023, to
record 2,072,642Mbps in 2024. Used outgoing international Internet bandwidth capacity also
increased by 31.75% to record 516,883Mbps in 2024, from 392,333Mbps recorded in the
previous year.

Total voice traffic increased by 12.82%, from 11.7 billion minutes, to record 13.2 billion
minutes in 2024. The growth in total voice traffic emanated mainly from an increase in national
traffic, particularly net on net calls due to increased promotional offers by service providers.

5
This could have been spurred by increased competition posed by the coming on board of
Starlink.
• Decline in Postal and Courier Volumes.

Postal and courier items declined by 28.74% from 2,012,181 recorded in 2023, to 1,433,976 in
2024.
• Growth in revenues, capital expenditure amidst rising operating costs.

The year 2024 was characterised by a trend of growing revenues amidst rising operating costs
in the sector. Owing to currency change that happened in 2024, financials were compared in
USD. The total postal and telecommunications sector revenue for 2024 amounted to USD1
billion, up from USD997.2 million generated in 2023; this represents revenue annual growth
rate of 0.28%.
Telecommunications capital expenditure grew by 91.5%, from USD55.4 million recorded in
2023, to record USD106.1 million in 2024. The capital expenditure was mainly on Long Term
Evolution (LTE) and 5G deployments, and network upgrades. Capital expenditure by postal
and courier operators declined by 48.5%, from USD454,404 recorded in 2023 to USD234,207
in 2024.
On the other hand, the total postal and telecommunications sector operating costs amounted to
USD636.8 million in 2024, up from USD530.6 million incurred in 2023, giving an annual
variance of 20.01%.

• Increase in the number of licensees.

A total of ten (10) additional licences were issued in 2024; these consisted of three (3) ISP
National Licences, one (1) Network Facilities Services licence, one (1) Mobile Virtual Network
Operator licence and five (5) Courier licences. The list of the licensed operators in the various
markets as of 31 December 2024 is provided in the following table:

6
Licence Category Licensed Operators
Unified Telecommunication Services 1. TelOne
2. Pecus
1. Econet
Mobile Cellular Services 2. NetOne
3. Telecel
1. Africom
2. Dandemutande
3. Liquid
4. PowerTel
Internet Access Providers 5.Telecontract
6. ZARNet
7. Powertel
8. Dark Fibre Africa Zimbabwe
9. ZIMREN (Pvt) Ltd
Network Facilities, Network Services and 1. Fiber Connections
International Gateway 2. Fibrehood (PVT) Ltd
3. Starlink Zimbabwe
1.ClikIt Telecom
2. Frampol Investments Pvt Ltd
Internet Service Provider (ISP - Metro) 3. IT Anywhere
4. Linter-lix (PVT) Ltd
1.Timeless Technology
2. ZODSAT
Internet Service Provider (ISP - National)
3. Starlink Zimbabwe
4. AURA Group
5. IMC Communications
Internet Service Provider (ISP - Provincial) 1.Kamba Communications
Mobile Virtual Network Operator 1.Dolphin Telecoms
2. Taura (APP) Ltd
Application Services 1. Canlink
Postal Services 1. ZIMPOST
1. DHL
2. FEDEX
3. Courier Connect
4. Unifreight/Swift
5. Innscor Transport t/a Overnight Express
Courier Services 6. United Parcel Services
7. Skynet
8. Tuma Logistics
9. Zimdelivery
10. Confident Courier (Pvt) Business Corporation
11. Merchandise Carriers (Pvt) Ltd
12. Leebond Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd t/a Hot Courier
13. Luwy Cay Shipping t/a LC Shipping
14. Purple Monkey (Pvt) Ltd
15. Ana Air Transport (Pvt) Ltd
16. Gemoian Ent (Pvt) Ltd t/a G&M Logistics

7
2. SUBSCRIPTIONS & PENETRATION RATES
2.1 FIXED
The total number of active fixed telephone lines declined by 3.75% to record 298,047 as of 31
December 2024, from 309,645 recorded in the previous year. The trend in fixed VoIP as well
as PSTN lines throughout the year is shown in Figure 1 below:

Figure 1: Growth in Fixed Telephone Subscriptions

350,000
309,645 295,057 298,047
291,160 291,911
300,000
256,257 256,813 257,149 259,046 261,075
250,000

200,000

150,000

100,000
53,388
50,000 34,347 34,762 36,011 36,972

-
Q4 2023 Q1 2024 Q2 2024 Q3 2024 Q4 2024

Fixed VoIP PSTN Line Total

Fixed VoIP subscriptions contracted by 30.75% to record 36,972 as of 31 December 2024,

from 53,388 recorded in the previous year. This may be attributed to the growing prominence
of messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook that offer free voice and video calling
functionalities.

On the other hand, traditional fixed voice active subscriptions grew by a margin of 1.88% to
record 261,075 as of 31 December 2024, from 256,257 recorded as of 31 December 2023.
However, this marginal growth could not outweigh the significant decline in VoIP
subscriptions, hence a dip in the fixed tele-density by 0.06 percentage points from 2.0% in 2023
to 1.94% in the year under review

Figure 2 below shows a trend of fixed tele-density from 2014 to 2024:

8
Figure 2: Fixed Tele-density

3.00%
2.60%
2.50%
2.40%
2.50%

2.00% 1.94%
1.90% 1.90%
2.00% 1.80% 1.80%
Fixed Tele-density

1.70%
1.90%

1.50%

1.00%

0.50%

0.00%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

The rapid proliferation of mobile phones and growth in smartphone penetration rate have had
detrimental effects on fixed tele-density as people shift preference towards the convenience
and flexibility that comes with mobile phones.

2.2 MOBILE

The total number of active mobile subscriptions grew by 4.7% to record 15,677,094 in 2024,
from 14,973,816 recorded in the previous year as shown in Table 1 below:

Table 1: Active Mobile Subscriptions per Operator

Active Subscriptions 2023 Active Subscriptions 2024 Change (%)

Econet 10,440,693 11,332,804 8.5%
NetOne 4,251,791 3,963,193 -6.8%
Telecel 281,332 381,097 35.5%
Total 14,973,816 15,677,094 4.7%

Econet and Telecel gained subscribers in 2024 by 8.5% and 35.5% respectively, whereas
NetOne recorded a 6.8% decline in active mobile subscriptions. The annual variation in the
market share of active mobile subscriptions is shown in Figure 3 below:

9
Figure 3: Market Share of Mobile Subscriptions

As shown above, Econet and Telecel gained subscriber market shares by 2.59 and 0.53
percentage points respectively in 2024, whereas NetOne lost subscriber market share by 3.12
percentage points.

Mobile penetration rate grew by 4.76 percentage points to record 102.26% as of 31 December
2024, from 97.5% recorded in the previous year. The annual mobile penetration rate variations
are shown in Figure 4 below:

Figure 4: Mobile penetration rate

Mobile Penetration Rate

104.00% 102.70% 102.26%
102.00%
100.00%
97.50%
98.00%
96.00%
94.40% 93.90%
94.00% 94.80%
94.20%
92.00% 93.10% 90.60%
90.30%
90.00% 90.50%
88.00%
86.00%
84.00%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Mobile telecommunication companies have been expanding their network coverage to reach
previously underserved areas, including rural and remote regions. The expansion of mobile
networks improves accessibility and availability of mobile services, attracting new users and
increasing mobile penetration rates. As such mobile penetration rate is expected to grow
steadily due to increased connectivity covering underserved and unserved areas.

10
2.3 INTERNET/DATA
The total number of active Internet/data subscriptions as of 31 December 2024 was 12,493,098.
This translates to a 11.14% increase from 11,240,969 active subscriptions, as of 31 December
2023. The growth in active subscriptions by technology is shown in table 2 below:

Table 2: Active Internet subscriptions

Technology 2023 2024 Change (%)

3G/HSDPA/LTE 10,971,779 12,170,615 10.93%
Fixed LTE 72,756 102,105 40.34%
Leased Lines 2,870 2,871 0.03%
DSL 104,463 97,667 -6.51%
WiMAX 9,359 16,814 79.66%
CDMA 170 200 17.65%
VSAT 5,073 23,410 361.46%
Active Fibre Subscriptions 74,499 79,416 6.60%
Total 11,240,969 12,493,098 11.14%

The growth in adoption and deployment of fixed LTE has been ongoing, in substitution of older
technologies. The coming onboard of Starlink Zimbabwe also played a significant role in the
massive growth of VSAT subscribers by a significant margin of 361.46%. Overall, the Internet
penetration rate increased by 8.19 percentage points to reach 81.49%, from 73.3% recorded in
2023 as shown in Figure 5 below:

Figure 5: Internet penetration rate

Internet Penetration Rate

90.00% 81.49%
80.00%
70.00% 62.90% 60.90% 73.30%
60.00% 62.80% 65.30%
60.60%
50.00%
50.00% 45.00% 48.10% 50.80%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

11
The expansion of telecommunications infrastructure along with the ever-growing demand for
Internet based services and proliferation of smartphones has played a significant role in driving
Internet penetration over the years in Zimbabwe. This is evidenced by a steady increase in the
last 10 years as depicted above.

3. TRAFFIC AND USAGE PATTERNS

3.1 VOICE TRAFFIC

Total voice traffic for MNOs and fixed operator increased by 12.82% to record 13.2 billion
minutes in 2024, from 11.7 billion minutes recorded in the previous year. The growth in total
voice traffic emanated mainly from an increase in national traffic, particularly net on net calls.
Table below shows a comparison of the total voice traffic in minutes for MNOs.

Table 3: Mobile Voice Traffic

2023 2024
Traffic category Variance (%)
(In Minutes) (In Minutes)
Net on Net 8,823,606,723 10,649,841,791 20.70%
Mobile to Fixed 19,388,984 16,819,742 -13.25%
Incoming from Fixed 223,861,433 204,947,755 -8.45%
Mobile to Other Mobile 2,347,354,071 1,819,163,116 -22.50%
Outgoing to IAPs 9,324,166 11,130,592 19.37%
Incoming from IAPs 110,613,263 116,020,264 4.89%
Total National 11,534,148,641 12,817,923,259 11.13%
International Incoming 84,764,270 66,728,647 -21.28%
International Outgoing 24,876,391 17,033,476 -31.53%
Inbound Roaming 2,720,907 1,989,876 -26.87%
Outbound Roaming 776,545 772,719 -0.49%
Total 11,646,650,521 12,904,447,977 10.80%

The following shows a downward trend for aggregate international voice traffic for both mobile
and fixed operators:

12
Figure 6: International traffic

International Voice Traffic

400
352.8
350 331

300
241.4
250
Minutes (Millions)

183.2 175.2 172.4

200160.7
135.1 136.9
150 119.7
102.4 105.7
91.2 90.2 85.8
100 63.1 69.2

50 25.7 29.6 27.7 27.7 18.1

0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
International Incoming International Outgoing

International traffic continued a downward trend as users prefer third party applications such
as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and Apple’s FaceTime, amongst others, which
offer alternative voice and video calling functions at affordable rates compared to traditional
means of communication.

3.2 MOBILE INTERNET & DATA TRAFFIC

A total of 299.77 petabytes (PBs) of mobile Internet and data traffic were consumed in 2024.
This represents a 75.09% increase in usage, from 171.21PBs consumed in 2023. The growth
in mobile Internet and data traffic is shown in Figure 7 below:

Figure 7: Growth in mobile Internet & data usage

Mobile Data in Petabytes (PBs)

299.77
300

250

200 171.21

150
113.86
96.19
100
48.78
27.28 35.73
50
8.09 15.36
1.7 3.68
0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

13
The exponential growth in mobile Internet/data traffic over the years may be attributed to
several factors, that are but not limited to improved network infrastructure which has improved
network speeds, e-commerce and e-learning, wide adoption of smartphones and social media
engagement.

3.3 USED INTERNATIONAL INTERNET BANDWIDTH CAPACITY

Used incoming international bandwidth capacity grew by 56.98% to record 2,072,642Mbps in

2024, from 1,320,305Mbps recorded in 2023. Used outgoing international Internet bandwidth
capacity also increased by 31.75% to record 516,883Mbps in 2024, from 392,333Mbps
recorded in 2023 as tabulated below.

Table 4: International Internet Bandwidth Capacity (Mbps)

2023 2024 Change (%)

International Incoming 1,320,305 2,072,642 56.98%
International Outgoing 392,333 516,883 31.75%

The growth in used incoming and outgoing international Internet bandwidth capacity in recent
trading quarters is shown in Figure 8 below:

Figure 8: International Internet Bandwidth Capacity (Mbps)

Used International Internet Bandwidth Capacity

1,000,000
889,102
900,000

800,000

700,000
Bandwidth (Mbps)

600,000

500,000
367,447 371,971 389,051
400,000 318,742 339,915 422,518
272,340 294,201
300,000
169,957
200,000 123,926 126,635
89,790 92,039 110,219 87,705 102,370 96,365
100,000

-
Q4 2022 Q1 2023 Q2 2023 Q3 2023 Q4 2023 Q1 2024 Q2 2024 Q3 2024 Q4 2024

International Incoming International Outgoing

14
3.4 POSTAL & COURIER VOLUMES
A total of 1,433,976 postal and courier items were processed in 2024; this represents a 28.74%
decline from 2,012,181 recorded in 2023. The annual variation in postal and courier volumes
is shown in Table 5 below:

Table 5: Postal & Courier Volumes

Service Category 2023 2024 Change (%)

Domestic postal letters 1,147,622 740,609 -35.47%
Domestic courier 486,562 498,472 2.45%
International incoming postal & courier 310,059 146,072 -52.89%
International outgoing postal & courier 67,938 48,823 -28.14%
Total postal & courier 2,012,181 1,433,976 -28.74%

Domestic courier was the only service category that recorded growth in volumes as shown
above. Total postal and courier volumes in recent years is shown in Figure 9 below:

Figure 9: Postal & Courier Volumes

Postal & Courier Volumes

12,000,000

10,000,000

8,000,000

6,000,000
10,713,301

8,721,550
4,000,000 8,098,751 7,764,640

5,277,478
2,000,000
3,370,080
2,434,576 2,148,849 2,012,181
1,433,976
-
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

The growing operation of unlicensed operators in the postal and courier space may have
detrimental effects on the postal and courier volumes by licensed operators. This is due to lower
prices that they offer to gain market share.

15
4. REVENUES, COSTS & INVESTMENTS
4.1 FIXED TELEPHONY REVENUE, COSTS & INVESTMENT

Table 6 below shows, in absolute terms, the financials for the fixed network operator for 2023
and 2024 in ZWL and ZWG respectively:

Table 6: Fixed Network Revenue, Costs & Investment

2023 2024
(Absolute-ZWL) (Absolute-ZWG)
Revenue 391,304,196,950 1,448,401,495
Costs 302,597,239,053 1,314,784,886
Investment 96,969,428,090 126,029,055

Financials were converted to the USD using quarterly average exchange rates to enable
comparison as shown in table 7 below:

Table 7: Fixed Network Revenue, Costs & Investment (USD)

2023 2024
Change (%)
(Approximate - USD) (Approximate - USD)
Revenue 108,199,974 78,392,943 -27.55%
Costs 85,659,916 71,400,644 -16.65%
Investment 28,885,165 7,249,626 -74.90%

The fixed network operator revenue contracted by 27.55% to record USD78.4 million from
USD108.2 million generated in the previous year. On the other hand, operating costs declined
by 16.65% in the same period to record USD71.4 million from USD85.7 million incurred in
2023. Investments declined significantly by 74.90% to USD7.2 million from USD28.9 million
invested last year.

Figure 10 below depicts fixed telephone revenue vis-à-vis operating costs, and financial
performance.

16
Figure 10: Fixed Telephone Revenues & Operating Costs

120,000,000 91.08% 92.00%

108,199,974
90.00%
100,000,000
88.00%
85,659,916

Cost to Income Ratio

78,392,943 86.00%
80,000,000 71,400,644
84.00%
USD

60,000,000 82.00%
80.00%
40,000,000 79.17%
78.00%
76.00%
20,000,000
74.00%
0 72.00%
2023 2024

Revenue Operating Costs Cost to Income Ratio

Cost to Income ratio worsened from 79.17% to 91.08% signalling reduced profitability in the
wake of the economic difficulties being faced by the operators.

4.2 MOBILE

Table 8 below shows, in absolute terms, the financials for the MNOs for 2023 and 2024 in
ZWL and ZWG respectively:

Table 8: Mobile Revenue, Operating Costs & Investment

Metric 2023 2024

(Absolute-ZWL) (Absolute-ZWG)
Revenue 2,219,830,434,353 13,612,664,667
Costs 684,430,530,661 6,662,306,594
Investment 51,020,081,504 1,679,259,528

Financials were converted to the USD to enable comparison as shown in table 9 below:

Table 9: Mobile Revenue, Operating Costs & Investment (USD)

Metric 2023 2024 Change (%)

(Approximate - USD) (Approximate - USD)
Revenue 626,162,106 716,612,260 14.45%
Costs 255,976,287 365,608,618 42.83%
Investment 26,863,931 83,341,147 210.23%

17
The total revenue for the MNOs grew in real terms by 14.45% to record USD716.6 million in
2024, from USD626.2 million generated in the previous year. However, operating costs
increased by a bigger margin of 42.83% to record USD365.6 million from USD256 million
incurred in 2023. Collectively, MNOs invested USD83.3 million in 2024 from USD26.9
million invested in the previous year.

Figure 11 below depicts mobile network operator revenue vis-à-vis operating costs, and
financial performance.

Figure 11: Mobile Network Revenues & Costs

800,000,000 60.00%
716,612,260
700,000,000 51.02%
626,162,106 50.00%
Revenue and Costs in USD

600,000,000

Costs to Income Ratio

40.88% 40.00%
500,000,000

400,000,000 365,608,618 30.00%

300,000,000 255,976,287
20.00%
200,000,000
10.00%
100,000,000

0 0.00%
2023 2024

Revenue Operating Costs Costs to Income Ratio

The growth in operating costs outweighed the growth in revenue as indicated by the
worsening cost to income ratio from 40.88% to 51.02%.

Figure 12 below shows revenue contribution by service:

Figure 12: MNO revenue contribution by service

18
As telecommunication users shift preference from traditional voice calls to data centric
services, Internet/data services have increasingly become the cash cow for mobile network
providers as shown above with a 43.9% revenue contribution in 2024, from 38.3% contributed
in 2023.

4.3 IAP REVENUES, COSTS & INVESTMENT

Table 10 below shows, in absolute terms, the financials for the IAPs for 2023 and 2024 in ZWL
and ZWG respectively:

Table 10: IAP Revenues, Costs & Investment

Metric 2023 2024

(Absolute-ZWL) (Absolute-ZWG)
Revenue 1,297,366,366,373 4,932,887,809
Costs 956,027,644,265 4,210,622,623
Investment 122,927,760,533 332,357,470

Financials above were converted to the USD for comparison purposes as shown in table 11
below:

19
Table 11: IAP Revenues, Costs & Investment (USD)

Metric 2023 2024 Change (%)

(Approximate - USD) (Approximate - USD)
Revenue 345,031,253 268,125,484 -22.29%
Costs 247,265,455 241,376,550 -2.38%
Investment 28,532,546 22,740,702 -20.30%

The total revenue for IAPs contracted in real terms by 22.29% from USD345 million generated
last year to USD268.1 million in 2024. Operating costs also declined by 2.38% to record
USD241.4 million from USD247.3 million incurred last year. Meanwhile, USD22.7 million
was put towards investment in 2024, as compared to USD28.5 million invested last year.

Figure 13 below depicts mobile network operator revenue vis-à-vis operating costs, and
financial performance.

Figure 13: IAP Revenues & Operating Costs

400,000,000 100.00%
350,000,000 90.02% 90.00%
80.00%

Costs to Income Ratio

300,000,000
71.66% 70.00%
250,000,000 60.00%
USD

200,000,000 50.00%
150,000,000 40.00%
30.00%
100,000,000
20.00%
50,000,000 10.00%
0 0.00%
2023 2024
Revenue 345,031,253 268,125,484
Operating Costs 247,265,455 241,376,550
Costs to Income Ratio 71.66% 90.02%

Revenue Operating Costs Costs to Income Ratio

As indicated above, the decline in revenue outpaced the decline in operating costs, signalling
loss of profitability as the IAP operators used 91.02% of their revenue to cover operational
expenses in 2024, as compared to 2023 position of 71.66%.

20
4.4 POSTAL & COURIER

Table 12 below shows, in absolute terms, the financials for the IAPs for 2023 and 2024 in ZWL
and ZWG respectively:

Table 12: Postal & Courier Revenue, Costs & Investment

Metric 2023 2024

(Absolute-ZWL) (Absolute-ZWG)
Revenue 95,469,705,509 401,791,726

Costs 103,213,652,098 539,105,976

Investment 1,548,174,770 4,914,744

Financials above were converted to the USD to enable comparison as shown in table 13 below:

Table 13: Postal & Courier Revenue, Costs & Investment (USD)

2023 2024
Change (%)
Metric (Approximate - USD) (Approximate - USD)
Revenue 26,014,714 21,429,143 -17.63%
Costs 27,393,077 29,833,533 8.91%
Investment 454,404 234,207 -48.46%

Total revenue for the postal and courier operators declined in real terms by 17.63% to record
USD21.1 million in 2024, from USD26 million generated last year. However, their operating
costs grew by 8.91% to record USD29.9 million from USD27.4 million incurred in 2024.

Operating costs for the postal and courier operators continued to rise amidst falling revenues,
signaling losses in the trading year 2024. This calls for adjustment of the current business
models to align with the demands of the current market.

5. TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE
5.1 MOBILE BASE STATIONS
The total number of base stations was 11,738 as of 31 December 2024, up from 10,759 as of
31 December 2023. An annual comparison of base stations by technology are shown in Figure
14 below:

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Figure 14: Mobile Base Stations

4,965 4,969

3,725
3,478
2,924
2,289

27 120

2023 2024 2023 2024 2023 2024 2023 2024

2G 3G LTE 5G

Operators continued to move away from deployment of 2G and 3G network infrastructure in

favour of LTE and 5G network technologies as illustrated on the chart above. A total of 979
base stations were deployed in 2024, of which 635 were LTE and 93 were 5G.

In terms of mobile network coverage in urban and rural areas, the annual variation in population
network coverage by technology is shown in the Table 14 below:

Table 14: Mobile Network Population Coverage

2023 2024 Change

(Percentage Points)
Rural 75.07% 75.70% 0.63
2G Urban 99.90% 99.90% 0.00
Total 93.75% 93.85% 0.10
Rural 67.60% 71.60% 4.00
3G Urban 99.90% 99.90% 0.00
Total 86.80% 87.90% 1.10
Rural 3.75% 24.60% 20.85
LTE Urban 93.0% 95.00% 2.00
Total 44.70% 51.60% 6.90
Rural - - -
5G Urban 2.65% 15.90% 13.25
Total 2.65% 15.90% 13.25

As shown above, LTE network population coverage grew significantly by 20.85 percentage
points in rural areas in 2024. Moreso, operators continued to increase their 5G coverage
particularly in the urban areas as indicated by a 13.25 percentage point improvement in
population network coverage.

22
6. INTERNATIONAL INTERNET BANDWIDTH

Equipped international Internet bandwidth increased by 36.21% to reach 1,401,746Mbps as of

31 December 2024, from 1,029,085Mbps recorded as of 31 December 2023. Demand for data
and Internet services continued an upward trend in the year under review. Consequently,
Internet Access Providers invested in the expansion of their bandwidth capacities as shown in
Figure 15 below:

Figure 15: Equipped International Internet Bandwidth Capacity

1,401,746
1,600,000

1,400,000

1,029,085
1,200,000

1,000,000
Mbps

553,700
800,000

600,000 496,916
333,416

400,000
127,715
113,405
102,080
75,975
19,864
13,320

200,000

-
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

As the demand for Internet services maintain its momentum, service providers have been faced
with the need to continuously invest in infrastructure, including such notable projects like the
switching on of the fast Internet fibre over the rail in Somabula early in 2024. Initiatives like
these, along with other technological advancements have necessitated growth in equipped
international Internet bandwidth capacity over the years as depicted above.

7. EMPLOYMENT

The total number of people employed on a full-time basis in the postal and telecommunications
sector increased by 18.58%, to reach 7,423 as of 31 December 2024, from 6,260 people
employed at the end of last year. The number of employees is broken down by subsector and
by gender as follows:

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7.1 MOBILE NETWORK OPERATORS:

The total number of people employed by the MNOs on a full-time basis, as of 31 December
2024, was 2,260 down from 2,450 employees recorded in the previous year. The total number
of mobile network employees is broken down by gender in Figure 16 below:

Figure 16: Employment by mobile network operators

3,000

2,450
2,500
2,260
Fulltime Employees

2,000

1,491
1,500 1,362

959 898
1,000

500

0
2023 2024

Male Female Total

As shown above, there was a decline in employment by mobile network operators in 2024.

7.2 INTERNET ACCESS PROVIDERS

Internet Access Providers (IAPs) employees are broken down by gender in Figure 17 below:

Figure 17: Employment by Internet Access Providers

3,000
2,515
2,500
Fulltime Employees

2,000 1,793

1,500
999
1,000 729 722

500 270

0
2023 2024

Male Female Total

24
The growing demand for Internet access and increased uptake and use of Internet-based
applications has increased the demand for technical support and customer care personnel by
Internet Access Providers. This may have accelerated employment growth in the year under
review to 2,515, up from 999 recorded last year as shown above.

7.3 FIXED NETWORK

The total number of people employed by the fixed network operator on a fulltime basis declined
by 23 to record 1,587 from 1,610 recorded last year. The annual comparison is shown in Figure
18 below.

Figure 18: Employment by the fixed network

1,800
1,610 1,587
1,600

1,400
1,182
1,200 1,128

1,000

800

600
428 459
400

200

0
2023 2024

Male Female Total

7.4 POSTAL & COURIER

The total number of people employed on a full-time basis by the postal and courier operators
declined to 1,061, as of 31 December 2024, from 1,201 people employed as of 31 December
2023 as shown in Figure 19 below:

25
Figure 19: Postal & Courier employees

1,400

1,201
1,200
1,061

1,000
884
Fulltime Employees

800 727

600

400 317 334

200

0
2023 2024

Male Female Total

8. OUTLOOK
The postal and telecommunications sector is expected to evolve significantly in the year ahead
driven by increasing digital adoption, network infrastructural development, and an increasingly
tech-savvy population. The continued expansion of mobile and fixed broadband coupled with
the growth in smartphone penetration rates will continue to spur the demand for online services,
e-commerce, and social media engagement. Further investments in fibre optic networks, data
centres and 5G rollouts across the country will aid the growing digital economy and bridging
the digital divide in the country. This will also accelerate growth of e-commerce, fintech and
digital financial services to promote cross border digital trade as envisioned under the African
Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) flagship project.

On the competition side, expectations are that more players will enter the various markets for
postal and telecommunication services and intensify competition in the market. This should go
a long way in fostering price competition for enhanced service affordability.

Innovation hubs being set across universities in Zimbabwe will continue to fuel innovation and
technological startups amongst the youths. The prevalence of online shopping and e-commerce
platforms is expected to boost courier volumes, create new opportunities for businesses and
consumers. However, this will be heavily dependent on laying out robust delivery channels for
easy access to consumers and licensing of the unlicensed courier operators.

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Increased adoption of Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things is expected to improve
efficiency, service delivery and productivity in various sectors, such as agriculture, healthcare
and transportation, to drive sustainable socio-economic growth. However, this requires huge
capital outlays and foreign currency which is not sufficiently available to sector players.

As the country embraces digital transformation, postal and telecommunications users need to
be wary of the risks of cyber-attacks, which prompts for increased data and consumer
protection initiatives across the country.

Overall, the sector is expected to register moderate growth, albeit the possible disruption of the
world economic order emanating from the “America First” trade initiatives by the United States
of America.

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