The CEO of ZOL, Denny Marandure speaking at the launch
Earlier today local internet service provider ZOL launched a new fibre to the home package called ZOL Fibroniks Lite which is targetted at the more price sensitive internet consumer.
The new package, which is priced at $29, joins the already existing lineup of ZOL Fibroniks packages and it is designed to provide the cheapest fibre to the home package yet from ZOL and every other internet service provider in the country.
For $29 ZOL Fibroniks Lite subscribers get 15 GB of data with download and upload speeds of up to 5Mbps, a free ZOLphone cordless handset for ZOL’s VoIP service, and free installation for anyone signing up for the first time to ZOL’s fibre to the home service.
This new package comes on the heels of ZOL’s recent adjustment of data caps on its previous packages which have now given the previous $39 entry package a 25 GB data cap and moved the $89 cap to 50 GB.
By any account, a $29 package for a fibre connection is commendable, especially since it carries the same data cap that was previously placed on a $39 package.
This represents an ultimate lowering of data costs, something that is welcome especially for Fibre to the Home services that offer subscribers the option to tap into a set of over the top services which include triple play products that incorporate voice communication and entertainment like Video On Demand (VOD) services.
It is worth noting, however, that 15 GB of data that is delivered through symmetric upload and download speeds not only means a fast connection, but also a faster consumption of broadband, something which will make Fibroniks Lite the gateway drug for fibre access to the first time customers that ZOL is targeting.
Here are some pictures from the launch.
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43 comments
with download and upload speeds of up to 5 GB wow, are you sure about this. can u explain further
Sorry, that’s Mbps, not GB, my bad. Thanks for pointing out that mistake. It’s now been corrected.
A download speed of upto 5GB????? Nigga please!
Sorry about that. It’s since been corrected.
would be worthwhile news if it was for the whole country…zimbabwe is not just harare
Nige i assume you mean 5Mbps speads not 5GB 🙂
Lol yep. That was a mistake there. Definitely Mbps!
You are being trivial for nothing here guys. The writer of this article is way up there as far as tech Jagon is. It’s a mistake, point is we all know what he meant to say
What drives business growth is customer experience. It will be interesting to see if Zol is drawing any business growth in all these launches or it just doing launches because the parent company can afford to write off Zol losses.
My experience with Zol had taught me to stay away from anything Zol! I had bad experience with YoAfrica, but l give them credit of being polite and trying their best.
Zol yakuita kunge kampani yaana Museyamwa, mwana watete nechizukuru ndivo vanopihwa mabasa.
Zol support stinks all the way to heaven and back to earth.
Macd Chip wakarwadziwa sha… everything ZOL unongoita ka comment uchitiudza the same thing. WE KNOW YOU HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH ZOL… GET OVER IT!!! I wanna read other comments sha… wakubhowa!
good package but question is what areas are fibre available
@Macd Chip you sound like a jilted lover! can we discuss the article and not your bitterness from yesteryear?
Im discussing the article, l first asked the business viability of it. Nigel rightely pointed that “…something which will make Fibroniks Lite the gateway drug for fibre access to the first time customers that ZOL is targeting…”
This will bring the issue of support when things go wrong and those first time customers will learn the hard way. So why shouldnt l highlight my experience as a way of pre-warning would-be new customers?
I followed their launch on Facebook and Twitter. It was a pretty PR show. They launched a customer centric website that is among the best I have seen world over. If their service is as bad as you put it, they are surely putting a neat front-end to it.
We would like to hear from current users.. what is the experience of their FTTH?
Speaking of support, is Telone support that improved? A few years back, to get a tech to come to your house you had to bride them. Has that changed? I use Telkom, the other day it took them 4 days to come sort my cable problem. That said.. Service can be great as long as it works. How is Telone doing on the customer support front?
Ask anyone who is now customer of Telone, l returned to Telone 2 months ago. Its like returning to a totally new different company.
They are trying!! Just try them and call 04 794 794. But l do agree that years back, like 3ago, they were the worst after PowerTel.
Zol lm sure took Powertel customers as well as their customer support operand.
Telone support hasn’t been great, which is why i’m trying out ZOL for this month. Some weeks ago I started my internet connection became unstable (no internet at most times) and they’ve been unable to fix it. Their technicians did show up but they couldn’t fix anything and its been weeks now on a crappy connection. So this is where our roads part.
Which one are you going for, wimax or fiber? If you are going for Wimax l have a Zol outdoor unit to giveaway 😉
Looking for a Zol outdoor unit. Please contact me: 0771981197
Telone has been more responsive than ZOL. i have had a couple of issues with Telone but atleast they have responded & tried to sort things out. ZOL manje anga angori mazino chete!
I have been enquering about Norton twinlakes area but I havent received any positive feedback
kindly inform us whether you want us on your customer list or not
I think Norton does not have fiber overlay. Wimax will be your best bet.
Telone support has really changed over the last 3 months…. They actually polite…. Call center operates 24hrs….give their name …really good….give them a go you’ll be shocked…. The 42$ is what I would recommend is 50GB and minimum speed 3mbps but can reach 4mbps regularly…. Hats off to Telone… I applaud you…. Your service could take on private Enterprises
Which package is this?
This is a bit of a sales pitching. Which part of Harare do you live? Did you have copper cables newly installed as well for your package?
Zol really? such a tight ass company….. for $29 you should be getting between 20 – 30 gigs ( in the real world you would get uncapped and speeds over 20 mbps ) Why are ISP companies in Zim so stingy? It costs them nothing to supply data Internet.
Oh the should have beens and would have beens if we were part of the “real world”..Guess what, ZIm is OUR real world. Join the service provider club and let’s see how much of a real world YOU can create.
lol and you living in the real world of Zimbabwe go by the name of ?
I agree with Gray. No further comment from me.
In my experience
ZOL when they feel like it can be brilliant. However these instances are far and few between.
We have had ZOL since inception when the tag line was “get through at 56k”
Never ever did get through at anything about 46 but hey lets call that a Tel*One copper issue.
Then we got ADSL – no shapping nothing. The free traffic to zim sites was brilliant as I had a public IP so used to VPN to my work server and download all my stuff over night.
Then the nightmare that is ZOL WiMAX happened. Its as though someone came with un managed switches, daisy chained them, put a little p4 nat server and was done.
I say this because over and over again when I am around, I do the same test
Econet WiMAX vs ZOL WiMAX – one public IP one NAT IP Econet murders the routing, ping, and speed tests day in day out. It just works, and when it doesnt there is support. It is so unfortunate that broadband @home and @work was cancelled and is now available to those grandfathered into it. Same base station, same device experience is night and day.
If I need WiMAX iWAY is my choice. They asked me what I needed I said at the time 1Mbps unlimited and they have delivered that consistently with an uptime of 99% plus through a third part provider. Support is stellar. They spend five minutes trouble shooting and then send a tech next day if its not resolved. At one point I had a faulty wifi router and they took the time to diagnose, test and resolve.
What is my setup now at said location
1. iWAY – Public IP for remote stuff still 1Mbps CIR
2. Econet Wimax backup
3. ZOL Fibroniks for torrents and ZOL spot access
4. Tel*One -> gave up when they did not replace my ADSL modem. Might be time to re evaluate.
Just to drive a point about support – when I switched to fibroniks, my instructions were clear – cut wimax billing when the fibroniks is live and start billing. Credit any wimax days left to the fibroniks bill. Same account and everything.
Guess what, they double billed for two months and took two weeks to issue credit notes. Now if you can not do something where your client is proactive, i shudder to think what will happen when the link has issues.
That said,
$29 a month is not a bad deal (you pay peanuts and get a monkey), but in this day and age 15Gb is hardly enough
Is Bulawayo covered with this package?
Charles, I think its location specific. Give them a call.
the package is available wherever fibroniks is available 🙂 so some areas of BYO i believe are connected but best to double check with ZOL direct
People may be happy with the price and all but the greatest catch is on the cap. realistically, 15GB on fibre is nothing, 10 days you will be out. Then you need to top up at $7 a gig. Ipapo ndipo paunozoona kuti ZOL haina kuchipa. Bva ini zii zvangu ndiri pa Telone ye $42 for 50GB. Ndakaipedza in 3 weeks,ndongonotenga dzimwe 50GB for $42.
Zvakachipa zvinodhura…especially if you get excited by a price tag and don’t stop to consider if what’s coming with the price tag meets your needs or if it really costs less in the long run. Don’t cry foul when you buy a best before 10km sandal cos its cheap when what you really need is a heavy duty boot.
It’s all good and well but there’s a bit of hypocrisy and classism by ZOL since all their packages are only available to the people in the ‘burbs and not to the high density areas at all. You’d think THOSE areas were the ones earmarked for this latest package but no.
ZOL is and has been making a lot of noise about their products that look great on paper but are just pathetically terrible in real life. I for one have used the MiFi closed it, WiMax closed it and Fibre finally closed it. I think ZOL cheats people and thats not right most of my trusted circle also complain from rude physical assistance esp if you have a complaint, slow response on call support, no real transparency on usage reports and ridiculous top-up charges.
Pangoshaya button rekuti LIKE pa comment yako. went thru the same cycle as you.gave up & went to Telone
Neniwo went through the same! I do not think Zol invest any money in training their staff
Which parts of Harare are covered with this package ($29) I am in Mufakose.
Sorry sha… it’s not in Mufakose!!
Aaaa kuMufakose unowana fiber yacho yakutengeswa dhola for two pamusika…
I have been using Zol since the days of Sasha former ceo 2000 era not a single day have i had any problems. People need to know that one can’t use a home package for business use and also one has to stay in their financial lane most of you have basic packages. Upgrade and stream niggers
guy help me how best is zol interms of consumer experience