While we were in Mutare at the Hillcrest College ICT Expo and Winter Fair, we visited the Utande stand to check out what the internet service provider (ISP) had on offer for customers in the Eastern Highlands. And to our surprise, the team at Utande told us that they had LTE capped or pay-as-you-go packages for customers in Mutare, Bulawayo and Chitungwiza.
| Package | Price (USD) |
| 20 GB | 29.00 |
| 30 GB | 39.00 |
| 40 GB | 48.00 |
| 50 GB | 60.00 |
| 75 GB | 69.00 |
| 100 GB | 78.00 |
If you remember the last time we covered Utande LTE there was an announcement of the slashing their USD prices for the uncapped packages by 18%. And we badgered the folks from Utande about the arrival of capped packages because they make the most sense for the average user.
Furthermore, we hosted Dandemutande CEO, Never Ncube on an episode of Technikari to ask about the arrival of capped LTE packages and we were told that they are on their way sometime in the future. Well, it appears that they were true to their word but not in the way I expected.
Utande LTE capped packages vs Liquid Wibroniks and TelOne Blaze
So it looks like there is no love for Harare with the capped packages because they are only available in the other three major cities. This sucks for the capital but it might mean that Utande is looking to make in roads everywhere else or maybe they think the folks in Harare are better served by the uncapped packages.
Either way, the proof is in how much cheaper these pay-as-you-go packages are compared to Liquid Home’s Wibroniks and TelOne’s Blaze LTE.
| Package | Utande LTE (USD) | Liquid Home Wibroniks (USD) | TelOne Blaze LTE (USD) |
| 20 GB | 29.00 | 41.00 | 23.00 |
| 25GB | – | 49.50 | – |
| 30 GB | 39.00 | 60.50 | – |
| 40 GB | 48.00 | – | 37.00 |
| 50 GB | 60.00 | – | – |
| 60GB | – | 91.00 | – |
| 75 GB | 69.00 | – | – |
| 100 GB | 78.00 | 121.00 | 57.00 |
It appears that Utande has sandwiched itself between Liquid’s Wibroniks and TelOne’s Blaze when it comes to prices. At this point, I am pretty sure the eagle eyed customer of either TelOne and Liquid has seen that some of the lower data caps have been omitted. This is because the comparison is not really like for like if you go into the packages that don’t directly compare with Utande’s capped LTE packages.
All that being said I think Utande is more competition for Liquid Wibroniks than for TelOne because the latter is only available in Harare and Chitungwiza, while Utande and Liquid are better represented across the country. The only place where TelOne comes into play is in Chitungwiza where the ISP has geo-locked lines for sale. If we are to take the Chi-Town case then its hard to argue against TelOne because the price looks to be around US$10.00 cheaper on average.
I’ll be curious to know what you think about Utande’s Harare-less LTE capped packages in the comments below.
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7 comments
Ahh papa mukutofunga zveharare itone ma-options ekutosarudza kuti munhu anoda ipi…. Ko isusu wemuma growth point ndisina option unless uchishandisa econet sim
Utande is only charged in USD whilst Zol is charged in both local and US currency therefore if u look at the 20 gig for Zol it is very cheap in local currency unless u wanna pay in USD then u will be shooting yourself in the foot
Utande is very expensive on equipment and set up. Even their promotion of free equipment is too expensive cause it is a contract of 12 months. Liquid home is much better 20gb now cost ZW 4,302 compared to Utande US$29 for 20gb.
Wait… Are you saying that Econet’s wifi bundles are cheaper than these guys?
I don’t think there is Utande LTE coverage in Bulawayo anyway. I couldn’t even get this company to install fibre in the CBD. Utande & Zol both have poor presales customer service which is surprisingly even worse than Telone.
The real story Techzim keeps avoiding is Utande is 45000 for 5Mbps whereas ZOL is 20K for 15Mbps
Does Utande accept payment in ZWL, if not will stick to my Liquid home its cheaper