The tariffs you pay for calling, texting and accessing the internet are going up again. POTRAZ has approved a “57% upward review of tariffs” using the Telecommunications Pricing Index.
Before taxes consumers will now pay the following:
- On-net calls per-minute will rise from $0.75 to $1.17
- SMSs will rise from $0.19 to $0.30
- mobile data per megabyte from $0.15 to $0.23
After taxes, consumers will end up paying more than the above-stated prices as currently NetOne, Econet and Telecel customers are paying 83c/min for calls, 25c per SMS and 25c/MB.
Whilst POTRAZ has approved these tariffs none of the mobile operators has put them into effect just as yet, though the expectation is that those announcements from MNOs will probably follow soon.
POTRAZ argues that before this most recent tariff review, these tariffs were last adjusted in October and local currency has since lost value:
Tariff thresholds for telecommunication services were last adjusted in October last year using the August 2019 Telecommunication Price Index (TPI) figures.
The current tariff thresholds have been rendered unsustainable as the operating environment continues to deteriorate due to constantly rising operating costs.
Accordingly, the authority has found it necessary to review tariff thresholds for telecommunication services by up to 56,64 percent based on the TPI, for the period October to December 2019 that was computed in consultation with operators.
Dr Gift Machengte – POTRAZ Director General
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Ok fine let’s say we increase the tariffs to 2 rtgs per minute. This is US 5 cents per minute at most. Not long ago we used to pay 25 US cents per minute. Effectively it’s not a increase at all. It’s only that hyperinflation makes people poorer.