Fewer calls mean way less money for Zimbabwean mobile operators as revenues continue to decline

Revenues for Zimbabwe’s mobile telecoms operators – Econet, NetOne and Telecel – declined by 3.7% during the second quarter of 2016 (April to June) with a tough economy and the slide in voice traffic attributed to this slide.

According to information shared by the regulator, POTRAZ, during the period a total of US$161.5 million in revenue was realised, down from the US$167.7 million recorded in the first quarter of 2016.

Voice traffic declined by 3.6% during the second quarter of 2016 and the national economy maintained a grim outlook.

This maintained the downward trend that has been carried from 2015. Between December 2015 and June 2016 revenue in Zimbabwean mobile telecoms dropped from US$191.1 million to the most recent figure of US$161.5 million.

The second quarter of 2015 recorded mobile telecoms revenues of US$183.2 million a figure which actually was the start of a brief bump in revenues during that period. Otherwise, it’s been a pattern of decline.

As mobile telecoms providers continue to face disruption brought on by services like instant messaging and other internet based communication alternatives, the trend is expected to hold until other revenue centres like broadband and mobile payments start carrying more weight.