Zimbabwe’s mobile telecommunications sector experienced notable growth in the second quarter of 2025, with revenues rising, costs decreasing, and capital investments hitting record levels.
The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), in its Second Quarter Postal and Telecommunications Abridged Sector Performance Report, indicated that total revenue for mobile network operators (MNOs) increased 9.24%, from ZWG 6.15 billion in Q1 to ZWG 6.71 billion.
Operating costs fell 5.47%, from ZWG 3.68 billion to ZWG 3.48 billion, reflecting improved efficiency across the sector. Meanwhile, capital expenditure (CapEx) soared 261% to ZWG 1.53 billion, up from ZWG 423.81 million, as operators accelerated network expansion.
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Data services remained the largest revenue driver, accounting for 47.97% of total income. The surge was fueled by growing demand for bandwidth-intensive platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok, highlighting the need for faster and more reliable internet connectivity.
Infrastructure development also advanced rapidly, with 68 new 5G base stations deployed, bringing the total to 252, alongside 246 LTE and 130 3G stations. POTRAZ noted that the expanded LTE and 5G networks would improve connectivity, speeds, and overall service quality.
In the voice over internet protocol (VoIP) market, Liquid Intelligent Technologies led with 53.10% of subscriptions, followed by Africom at 23.47%, and Dandemutande, TelOne, and Telecontract at 17.91%, 5.13%, and 0.39%, respectively.
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Traditional voice services continued to decline, with total traffic on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) dropping 9.67% from 54.64 million minutes in Q1 to 49.36 million minutes in Q2. The largest declines occurred in fixed-to-mobile traffic and calls to internet service providers (ISPs). International incoming traffic fell 6.84%, while outgoing international calls rose 4.42%.
POTRAZ attributed the decline in traditional voice to the growing adoption of over-the-top (OTT) communication apps and the shift from fixed-line to mobile services.
Analysts say the sector’s rising capital expenditure and rapid 5G and LTE rollout position operators to meet increasing consumer demand, solidifying data services as the backbone of telecom revenues while traditional voice continues to decline.
