2015 is almost over, but one thing hasn’t changed. The internet is still a luxury for a lot of people in Zimbabwe. One of the main reasons is the high cost associated with going online.
To be fair, the internet providers have made a number of significant changes to their product suites, with the options to access the internet for limited incomes increasing on year by year basis.
However, we are still not at a point where data service costs become an afterthought. Local internet prices are still steep, particularly for the majority of Zimbabweans who use mobile devices to go online. The absence of regulatory intervention hasn’t helped either. All the changes we’ve noticed so far are a reuslt of macro-economic forces in a tough economy.
In 2015 we saw a shakeup in fibre internet services, unbelievable mobile broadband promos that came and went, changes in VSAT courtesy of regulatory intervention, some brushups on certain WIMAX services, increased competition in the WiFi hotpsot arena and some adjustments to ADSL.
Outside ZOL’s free wifi hotspots (that give you a 30 minute window everyday) you need at least 50 cents to access the internet in Zimbabwe, and thanks to some of the promotions being run by mobile network operators like Econet, and some wifi providers like Africom, that will get you 50 MB of data. For mobile broadband users without access to hotspots and looking beyond these promos, 50 cents is only good for at most 8 MB of data.
$1 now means more internet access largely because of the WiFi hotspot rollout from at least 4 internet providers, with TelOne’s 350 MB being the most you’ll get out of this nominal amount.
Home internet options now include an increasingly visible fibre presence, though it’s still largely in Harare. The cheapest fibre package is $36. ADSL is now accessible for at least $15 and a $10 WiMAX package from Africom will get you 1.2GB of data.
Without any sign of regulatory induced change, Zimbabweans can only hope that an increasingly competitive environmment will help in the downward review of these prices.
Mobile Network Operator Broadband Prices
| Data Price (US$) *All prices are for bundle rates | Econet Wireless Broadband | NetOne Broadband | Telecel Broadband |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.50 | 5MB | 8MB | 4.8MB |
| 1 | 10MB | 17MB | 9.5MB |
| 3 | – | 70MB | 76MB |
| 5 | 80MB | 125MB | 142.5MB |
| 10 | 200MB | 285MB | 304MB |
| 20 | 500MB | 670MB | 800MB |
| 30 | – | 1GB | – |
| 35 | 1GB | – | – |
| 45 | – | – | 2GB |
| 50 | 2.5GB | 2GB | – |
| 75 | – | – | 4GB |
AFRICOM
Africom MiChoice Regular Bundles
| PRICE ($US) | SIZE (All bundles valid for 30 days) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 100 MB |
| 2 | 200 MB |
| 5 | 600 MB |
| 10 | 1.2 GB |
| 25 | 3 GB |
Africom MiChoice and Flexi-Bundle Packages
| Package/ Bundle | Price | Validity (Days) |
|---|---|---|
| MiChoice – (Offers Unlimited Social Media Access, Browsing) | ||
| MiChoice Bronze | $5 | 7 |
| MiChoice Silver | $10 | 14 |
| MiChoice Gold | $25 | 30 |
| Flexi – Bundles (Pay As You Go Data Package) | ||
| 11MB | $1 | 30 |
| 50MB | $5 | 30 |
| 200MB | $15 | 30 |
| 500MB | $20 | 30 |
| 1GB | $40 | 30 |
| 2GB | $60 | 30 |
| 3GB | $75 | 30 |
| 5GB | $125 | 30 |
| 10GB | $250 | 30 |
APTICS
| Package(all packages are unlimited) | Cost($US) | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Aptics Bargain | 50 | 256Kbps |
| Aptics Basic | 75 | 512Kbps |
| Aptics Standard | 120 | 1Mbps |
| Aptics Deluxe | 180 | 2Mbps |
iWAY AFRICA
| Package | Cost ($US) | Speed | Data Allowance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile Internet | 42 | 3.1Mbps download speed | unlimited |
| WiMax | from 99 | from 1Mbps | from 40GB p/m |
| Fibre | from 99 | from 1Mbps | from 40GB p/m |
Powertel
| PACKAGE | PRICE ($US) | DATA (GB) | VALIDITY (DAYS) | VALUE ADDED SERVICES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Express | 35 | 15 | 7 | Unlimited downloads; Unlimited Surfing (Fair Usage Policy Applies) |
| Monthly Express | 60 | 30 | 30 | Unlimited Uploads & Downloads,Surfing ; Unlimited * Subscription is only for modem package |
| Monthly Turbo | 89 | 50 | 30 | Unlimited Uploads & Downloads, surfing; *Subscription only for WiFi Router Package |
| Powertel Unlimited | 175 | Unlimited (Ts & Cs Apply) | 30 | Monthly unlimited Deal Unlimited Downloads & uploads for the whole month; Uncapped, unlimited |
TELONE
TelOne ADSL
| PACKAGE | PRICE ($US) | SPEED & CAP |
|---|---|---|
| Home Basic | 15 | 1Mbps (2GB allowance) |
| Home Plus | 25 | 1Mbps (10GB allowance) |
| Home Premier | 42 | 1Mbps (25GB Allowance) |
| Infinity Pro | 89 | 1Mbps (Unlimited) |
| Infinity Master | 125 | 2Mbps (Unlimited ) |
| Infinity Supreme | 150 | 4Mbps (Unlimited) |
TelOne Fibre
| Package | Price ($USD) | Download Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 36 | 5Mbps (usage capped at 20GB) |
| Boost | 70 | 10Mbps (usage capped at 50GB) |
| Intense | 118 | 20Mbps (unlimited) |
TELCO
| Package | Price($US) | Speeds of up to (Mbps) | Data Cap (GB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11G | 35 | 5 | 11 |
| 18G | 42 | 5 | 18 |
| 25G | 50 | 5 | 25 |
| 38G | 63 | 5 | 38 |
| UNLIMITED PACKAGES | |||
| Fire | 128 | 10 | – |
| Ultra | 185 | 15 | – |
| Velocity Stream | 199 | – | |
| Xtreme | 208 | 20 | – |
uMAX
| musheMAX | monthlyMAX | skyMAX |
|---|---|---|
| $45/ month | $75/month | $150/month |
| 15GB allowance | 40 GB allowance | 150 GB allowance |
| 2 Mbps download speed | 3 Mbps speed | up to 5 Mbps |
| 15GB access off-peak (12am -6am) | 40 GB accessible off-peak (between 10pm and 6am) | Unlimited access off peak (between 10pm and 6am) |
Yo Africa
| Package | Cost($US) | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Mild | 70 | 512Kbps |
| Medium | 110 | up to 1Mbps |
| Hot | 160 | up to 1.5Mbps |
ZOL
| ZOL Fibroniks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fibroniks Lite | $34 | up to 5Mbps (capped at 25GB p/m) |
| Fibroniks Basic Essentials | $44 | up to 5Mbps (capped at 35GB) |
| Fibroniks Family Essentials | $94 | up to 5Mbps (capped at 75GB p/m) |
| Fibroniks Family Entertainment | 154 | up to 20Mbps (unlimited) |
| Fibroniks modern family | 204 | up to 30Mbps (unlimited) |
| Fibroniks turbo pack | 334 | up to 100Mbps (unlimited) |
15 comments
is powertel on some dumb idiot potion if my data cap is 15gb then why do i have a fair usage policy sounds like this is the reason why its so capped it becomes redundant is silly.
I was hoping to see the Vsat pricing as you touched them in your introdutions
Telone adsl should actually be cheaper with much more data allocated than currently. I should think they pay next to nothing for Internet and make a killing from us suckers!!!
Powertel Express’s 15GB for $35 is actually valid for 30 days. l have been using it for 2 months now without any problems. The speed is fair and so is the connectivity, it streams YouTube videos smoothly.
Tried it. Bt powertel shaped my connection such that i could notdownload at more than 30kbs and seeding a torrent took 15 days. And i was only 800m away from a low traffic tower. Powertel should open the pipes now that the service is capped.
Here in Cyprus, I pay USD86.00 for SIX MONTHS of unlimited internet (Wi fi at home) at 1Mbps download speed. For 2Mbps the cost is about 112.00.
You forget that there exists such things as subsidies in the eu and usage behaviours streaming dependecy on cloud solutions etc.
The price in zim fair for what we get and how we use though the speeds could be more fair.
You can’t compare Cyprus with Zimbabwe. The two countries have completely different dynamics affecting the cost of delivering data.
I understand all of that. I am simply saying that we still have a long way to go in Zimbabwe. By the way Turkey is not in the EU. I’m in Turkish Cyprus.
ko nhai wangu kuTurkish Cyprus hakuna matech sites here? ita zveikoko wangu?
KO ZARNET IRIPI??? Their website says they have wimax packages – from $49.99 to $74,99
App me for free adsl internet access, browse stream download for free no monthly costly, contact me Shanko Mananko 0736429099
Thank you guys for this. Can we get comparison with regional pricing or at the very least South Africa…
Techzim do some research on VSAT pricing on the market. Last time you only mentioned that Potraz reduced the landing fees. Please guys don’t sleep on the job.
Otherwise you are doing a great job.
Potraz should create bands for ISP`s costing/charging. Speeds no more than 1Mbps should be no more than $10/month, speeds from 1 Mbps up to 10 Mbps should be no more than $20/month any thing above 20Mbps $30 upto a max of $100.ISP`s can introduce caps if they want. @ the moment the charging system is flowed and no regulation. Free for all to rip customers.wake up potraz