Page 121 - SAMENA Trends - August 2019

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

and contributing towards research and development in who must pay for international bandwidth and network
the same field. equipment in foreign currency. Furthermore, the country
(August 28, 2019) chronicle.co.zw is suffering chronic power shortages which means
cellcos must keep their infrastructure running using
The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory expensive diesel-run backup generators. The report
Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has approved a cites an unnamed Zimbabwean telecoms executive as
sharp rise in tariffs for mobile telephony services in saying: ‘The adjustment in voice tariffs is welcome as
the country. The voice tariffs are being hiked by over it moves MNOs closer to cost effective tariffs and is
180%, from ZWL0.17 per minute to ZWL0.48. The move a direct response to the rise in service delivery costs
is designed to help the three local mobile network across the industry. This will go a long way in allowing
operators (MNOs) – Econet Wireless, NetOne and us to continue to deliver quality service, and for the
Telecel – amid an ongoing economic crisis where the industry to remain viable.’
value of the local currency has plummeted against the (August 16, 2019) Bulawayo24 News
dollar, leading to vastly increased costs for operators

Disclaimer: Information contained in Member News updates, Regional News updates, Policy & Regulatory updates, Satellite News updates, Tech-
nology News updates, Snapshot of Regulatory News SAMENA Countries, Regulatory News beyond SAMENA region and Wholesale News updates
have been obtained from sources, which we deem reliable. SAMENA Telecommunications Council is not liable for any misinformed decisions that the
reader may reach by being solely reliant on information contained herein. Expert advice should be sought.

121 AUGUST 2019