What Zimbabweans think about Econet Kombi WiFi

Last week, Econet launched Kombi WiFi. Frankly I thought it was good but not the big deal the company was making of it. It is normal here at the office to disagree on what’s a huge deal and what’s not, but the general feeling on this one was “ok, moving on.” That’s why our story was short and didn’t contain much opinion.

A small 50 kombi trial and bundle price ordinary enough it calls for no special mention.

But if there’s anything we can rely on our readers for, it is that they’ll share their opinion anyway. They did share here on the site, in our WhatsApp groups and on Facebook. And we thought it’d be great to have some of those thoughts in an article. Mostly so that when we look back a year later, after Econet Kombi WiFi has become thing so big it’s in every kombi in Zimbabwe (Or not), the benefit of hindsight makes it all even more interesting.

Here:

This could be an interesting play by Econet to re-launch mobile payments on Kombis > Pay your fare with EcoCash = Get free Wifi access during your ride! (Pretty good deal, I’d say!)
Remember… One of the main reasons why previous attempts failed was a lack of incentives for passengers & drivers to adopt EcoCash as a payment method.
WiFi enabled Kombis also opens up opportunities for real-time tracking & arrival time prediction. Allowing passengers to plan their journey in advance & Kombi owners to manage their fleet.
Commenters should consider the bigger picture before launching their attacks.

I would suggest Econet start by making sure their current WIFI infrastructure is up to scratch. Just today I bought daily data bundles that come with wifi bundles and when I tried to use them at their wifi hotspot in at 5 Ave Shops the system was down an I couldn’t connect. Similar instances have happened to me at Belgravia shops and Avondale. It’s really disappointing. I felt cheated. So if you cannot even maintain your current wifi infrastructure how can I have confidence in this new idea u have now. We need consistency Econet please.

It boils down to this: those who need it will use it, and those who don’t, won’t. Ko vanhu vakugwadziwa nei?

EW seems to be trying to do everything. There is nothing wrong in doing this strategically, perhaps the challenge is implementing these new ideas well enough for them to be successes. To date, I think Buddie & EcoCash stand out as successes, but there are some half-baked ideas that are out there, it’s natural that some products do not make it. ConnectedCar, for instance, hasn’t turned out the way EW had hoped. One hopes this new initiative succeeds.

i buy a 250mb data bundle on a daily basis which means everyday i have 250mb of wifi that i am pretty much unable to use because i don’t have access to an Econet wifi zone unless i want to dedicated an hour everyday after work to go sit in a random food court in the CBD just to exhaust this data. at the same time i spend 30minutes in a kombi just to get into town, and another 30 going home, so this idea actually kind of excites me because now i can spend my wifi data without compromising the time for any other plans. update all apps and catch up on the data hungry snapchat on my way to town. YES!

lol…for me combis presented an opportunity to meet someone new each day. with this good move by econet an “invisible curtain” has been erected between me and the person next to me…..lol

what’s the use of having wifis in mobile combies yet there are some remote areas which don’t even know what internet is?? It would have been better if they had built some technological infrastructure for some areas with the money

I think it’s better if Econet puts Wi-Fi on kombis and buses travelling long distances e.g from Harare to Mutare or from Bulawayo to Vic falls etc.

They shld improve their 4G first. 3G offered in some countries is way better than the so called 4G offered in Zimbabwe.

I still don’t understand how this works though, we still dnt have a single Econet wi-fi zone in a town as big as Hwange but you’re already putting wi-fi on kombis. We buy data evryday and we just accumulating wi-fi bundles that will only just expire. Ma1.

Find a better and easy way to make pipo pay in combis.Makamboedza zvikabondera but plse dont give up.That is a big business if u manage to pull thru.

Ndakambozvitaura kuti Econet imbavha

Let me take a guess another Mega Econet product launched first in Harare.

Blessed are those who reside in Harare… Here we read about econet wifi in e press fbk or wen you juice etyme

Internet use is more at home or at work.Make wifi available i our homes by transforming existing base stations into wifi hotspots. Zvemukombi hapana dhiri,taakuzobondereswa manje driver vari panet kkk

How about those who don’t use kombis. Ko kungoisa kuma rokesheni kwatinogara iyo wifi yacho

When it comes to WiFi ,ZOL chibaba .

Well done Econet…lts so refreshing to note that you continue persisting on the path of innovativeness and creativity. I can’t wait to experience this new product or is it service.Yea its true that you lead and others follow.Don’t worry vazhinji tinongorwadziwa takarohwa nemusombodhiya