Liquid Telecom Zimbabwe company and services update
Posted inBroadband

Liquid Telecom Zimbabwe company and services update

Today we attended an operations update and what was also a "Who are we" update by Liquid Telecom in Zimbabwe. At the event, the Zimbabwe managing director, Wellington Makamure addressed the press, customers and business partners on the strides Liquid has made in Zimbabwe in recent months especially to do with its now 2,700 km fibre network.
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iWayAfrica attempts to wake from slumber, launches $99, 40GB package
Posted inBroadband Connectivity

iWayAfrica attempts to wake from slumber, launches $99, 40GB package

Back in the day, around 2005, the brand Mweb was synonymous with the internet in Zimbabwe. They were the giants. You couldn't plan getting an internet connection and not think first about Mweb. Them and a few others like ofcourse, like Africa Online. Then Telkom happened, and along with it, it seems, a decision to take a back seat and let the other providers eat into their market share.
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Bulawayo based startup, Avelgood, releases measurement tools Nokia app
Posted inStartups

Bulawayo based startup, Avelgood, releases measurement tools Nokia app

To have your app downloaded more than a million times is a dream come true for any developer anywhere in the world. Whether they make lots of any money from it or not, it’s massive validation of the need and therefore market for a solution. What if we tell you that a local startup has had such success?
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Posted inBroadband

Zimbabwe UNWTO 2013: Econet to launch 4G LTE services in Victoria Falls

Econet Chief Marketing Office, Isaiah Nyangari, announced last week that Econet will be rolling out services in Zimbabwe’s tourist town of Victoria Falls, where this year’s United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly will be held. The announcement was made at the official handover of a Communications Centre to the Ministry of Tourism by the company in Harare. The centre will be used for the UNWTO conference.
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Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
Posted inMiscellaneous

SABC encryption a welcome development, says ZBC. Now pay your TV license!

An article in the state owned daily The Herald today says the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) has "hailed" the encryption of the South African SABC channels a few days ago, which made the channels inaccessible on free to air decoders. The report says ZBC is urging viewers to pay up TV licences as this would enable ZBC to improve the programming.
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Posted inBroadband

Econet contract subscribers have paid more for broadband all along!

If you're like us you probably assumed the new Econet data tariffs announced in March applied to all subscribers, pre and post paid. Not so! Those only apply to prepaid subscribers. The contract customers - that small but loyal and very high value category - were actually paying more for their data all along. You'd think the loyal guys would actually get lower rates!
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Dandemutande chairman comments on uMAX losses & shareholder confidence
Posted inBroadband

Dandemutande chairman comments on uMAX losses & shareholder confidence

Earlier today we posted an article titled "uMAX incurs $4.9 million loss. Shareholders express low confidence". We noted in the article, as the title says, that the contents of the annual report indicate low confidence in the retail and consumer internet business becoming profitable in the short term.
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iWayAfrica in $55k loss for year ending December 2012
Posted inBroadband

iWayAfrica in $55k loss for year ending December 2012

The annual report released this past weekend by Masawara also had details of the financial performance of one other internet provider which Masawara has shareholding in; iWayAfrica Zimbabwe. The iWay business also made losses in the year ending 31 December 2012 albeit much lower than uMAX.
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Afrocoin UI
Posted inConnectivity Mobile Money Startups

More of the Afrocoin money transfer solution: the website screenshot

Last month, we wrote about a money transfer service set to launch soon called Afrocoin. With scanty information gleaned from their Crunchbase profile and website holding page, we were not sure of the details of the product it is. We are still not sure about many things, but an image sent to our tips email this afternoon gives more insight into at least their web presence.
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uMAX incurs $4.9 million loss. Shareholders express low confidence
Posted inConnectivity

uMAX incurs $4.9 million loss. Shareholders express low confidence

The 2012 annual report sent out to Masawara shareholders over the weekend revealed that Dandemutande, an internet provider they have shareholding in, incurred losses amounting to US $4.9 million during the year ended 31 December 2012. Masawara’s share of the loss was US $3.4 million. The losses are attributed mainly to the retail and consumer internet division, which is called uMAX.
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