Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Slashes International Rates

We’ve just been informed through a release by Econet that the largest mobile operator in the country is slashing International call rates by 50%. A huge drop and one effectively making Econet the cheapest network for international calls. Before now, Telecel was the cheapest on International calls, charging local rates for International calls since February this year.

We’ve requested a tariff schedule from Econet and we’l post it once we receive it. In the meantime, here’s the full text of the release:

Econet Wireless, the country’s largest telecoms company, has slashed the cost of outgoing international calls by as much as 50%.

Chief Executive Officer Mr Douglas Mboweni said the cuts were the deepest ever undertaken by any operator, and Zimbabweans can now call destinations such as the UK and South Africa for as little as 24 cents per minute (0.004 cents per second).

Most interestingly, calls to South Africa are now much cheaper than what is charged by South African operators to call Zimbabwe.

Mr Mboweni said the move by Econet to cut its international tariffs had been made possible by a drive by the company to improve efficiencies, make it easier for all Zimbabweans to enjoy the benefits of telecommunications irrespective of where they are in the world.

He said that Econet was also able to make such deep cuts because the contribution of international calls to the company’s overall income had fallen considerably over the years.

“During our initial growth phase, international calls contributed over 25 percent to turnover. Today, that contribution has fallen. International tariffs have been falling globally for a number of years, and that trend is likely to continue,” said Mr. Mboweni.

Mr Mboweni said the tariff reviews had been ordered by the board of the company which wants customers to enjoy the best possible service.

“Last year our board told us to review tariffs and introduce per second billing once we had completed most of the expansion. Our tariffs are now the cheapest not just in Zimbabwe, but they are now very competitive within the region,” he said.