• Review: A solar powered mobile phone

    Last month, we attended the Econet Energy launch in Harare. At the event Econet gave out some solar powered ZTE-G S316 mobile phones to everyone attending. For us it was a convenient opportunity to review the solar powered mobile phones and provide our general opinion on them.

  • Mobile operators to start disconnecting unregistered subscribers

    There’s been silence on what happens now that the registration deadline has expired. Emails to POTRAZ didn’t yield anything, and asking the mobile operators left us no closer to the answer. Only NetOne responded yesterday with “POTRAZ is yet to give us a clear position on what course of action to take now that we…

  • The Telecel side of the story: Indigenisation, Expats & Buying Zimbabwe

    Barely seconds after we posted the accusation by Telecel that NetOne won’t share infrastructure, a email from Telecel appeared in our inbox with a press release titled “Telecel MD gives evidence to parliamentary committee” attached. Telecel has been mainly silent on the issued leveled against them in the past few months but the appearance before…

  • Telecel accuses NetOne of refusing to share passive infrastructure

    Telecel, the second largest mobile operator in Zimbabwe by subscriber base, has accused state owned (and smallest) mobile operator, NetOne, of refusing to share tower infrastructure. Telecel Zimbabwe CEO, Mr. Aimable Mpore made the accusation in a response to questions about Telecel’s shareholding structure from the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Media, Information and Communication Technology.

  • Telecel reduces cost of calling other mobile networks

    In a release we just received, Telecel has announced that it is scrapping the extra cost of calling mobile numbers outside the Telecel network. Effectively, this means Telecel subscribes will now call NetOne and Econet numbers at the same rate they call Telecel numbers.

  • Review: PowerTel Mobile Broadband

    Two weeks ago, Techzim got the opportunity to test the PowerTel mobile broadband service. We’ve been using the connection as a primary for one of our laptops at the office, taking it through the paces and below is what we think about it.

  • Press Release: Zimbo Jam to launch mobile site

    Zimbabwe’s leading arts, culture and lifestyle website, Zimbo Jam will on Tuesday March 1, 2011, officially launch the mobile version of its site. The launch ceremony will be simple; The Zimbo Jam editor will stand in front of the Econet offices in Harare’s First Street and at 1330hrs on the day Tweet: “Zimbo Jam mobile…

  • POTRAZ authorises mobile operators to start penalizing unregistered subscribers

    Zimbabwe’s telecoms regulator, POTRAZ, has authorised mobile operators in the country to start implementing some ‘restrictive measures’ on subscribers. This, according to POTRAZ, will force mobile subscribers to register their lines before the 28 February registration deadline.

  • Classifieds.co.zw registering more than 8 million monthly page views

    It’s a fact; classifieds.co.zw is Zimbabwe’s most successful online classifieds. If not in monetary terms then at least successful in popularity. For a lot of people, it’s the only Zim classifieds site they know. Merchants use the site as the internet face of their business. Most businesses don’t even have their own websites; classifieds is…

  • Aquiva Wireless now offering WiMax, Fibre and VSAT connectivity, to launch VoIP

    We were at Aquiva Wireless in Harare the other day, talking to the founding team about developments at the Internet Access Provider. There are some interesting developments alright; it’s Mobile WiMax offerings, fibre, VSAT and some VoIP services to launch in a few months.

  • NetOne’s free airtime promotion extended to lower denominations

    In December 2010 NetOne introduced a promotion where prepaid subscribers buying a US $15 airtime recharge would get 107 free minutes. This was all grand and fine except that it’s really just a few prepaid subscribers who can afford buying a $15 recharge at once.

  • POTRAZ issues mobile phone line registration reminder

    With just a month left to the 28th of February approaches, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has issued another reminder (a warning really) to mobile subscribers to register their mobile phone lines or risk disconnection when the deadline expires.

  • The Apple iPad officially launched in South Africa

    2010’s game changing tablet, Apple’s iPad, officially launched in South Africa today. As expected, this didn’t generate the usual excitement Apple products attract at launch. It’s really for the simple reason that Apple launched the same gadget in the US almost 10 months ago and is readying the launch of the second iPad generation.

  • How to not quickly use up your mobile broadband bundles

    We list below, a few bandwidth saving tips. We know some readers have even more tips. If you’re such a reader, please add in your tips in the comments. We’re going to assume you use a Windows machine here because that’s what most people use, and also because if you’re on a Linux box, chances…

  • Politics and technology: the goings on at Telecel

    Normally we like to keep clear of non-technology issues. It allows to focus and write about the things we know best. People at Telecel (or just people with interests in Telecel) however keep spending generous amounts of time generating news on the other side of the line. And it clearly affects the technology side of…

  • PowerTel launches mobile broadband in Bulawayo. Gweru & Kwekwe to follow

    State owned backhaul Internet Access Provider, PowerTel has launched 3G CDMA mobile broadband in Zimbabwe’s second largest city, Bulawayo. The official launch took place at the close of 2010 and the mobile internet service is now fully operational.

  • Telecel mobile internet access ‘satisfactory’

    Feedback acquired by TechZim from Telecel Zimbabwe subscribers who have been selected to test the Telecel mobile Internet platform launched towards the end of last year has been mixed.

  • ICT developments to watch out for in 2011

    2010 brought so much positive change to Zimbabwe’s ICT landscape. An exciting year indeed. But it’s behind us now and 2011 has just started. It remains to be seen if growth in the sector this year will happen at the same 2010 leaps-and-bounds rate. Still the new year looks promising from a couple of fronts.…

  • How your company can avoid becoming the next hacking victim

    Hack attacks are on the rise. And even if you’re not the immediate target, you could still end up a victim. It’s just a matter of time. This is generally true for big organisations. Targeted hacking is becoming a multibillion industry and the more profitable it becomes it means more skilled and talented hackers will…

  • Year 2010 In Review

    Like most tech blogs, at the end of the year, we write about the highlights of the year, the ICT events that attracted a lot of interest during the year. And this year is full of them:

  • Short guide to Zimbabwe’s mobile and Internet connectivity

    Some weeks ago, a fellow blogger sent us a blog post suggestion in the form of a list of questions about Zimbabwe’s mobile and internet connectivity.Here is the list of questions and answers. Your Zim connectivity FAQ. We added a few of our own. While this is targeted at Zimbabweans in the Diaspora, it includes…

  • Telecel makes move into mobile banking

    Telecel customers will soon be able to use their cellphones to buy groceries and airtime, pay bills, deposit and withdraw money, transfer and send money.

  • Telco working on a mobile broadband offering for early 2011

    In a response to an email we sent them, Telco (Telecontract) revealed that they’re working on a mobile broadband service to be launched in 2011. Telco says “deployment of the first base stations is underway and commissioning of the commercial services is scheduled for early in 2011.”

  • Details on the winners of Zimbabwe ICT 2010 Achievers Awards

    On Sunday, we posted the winners of the inaugural Zimbabwe ICT Achievers Awards. We had just come from the event the previous night and didn’t have the full details of the achievements of the winners. I know it took a whole week to get these, and we’re sorry for that. But let’s focus on the…

  • ICT 2010 Achievers Awards Journalist of the Year: Mqhele Tshuma

    Tshuma is a radio Journalist who has a keen interest in the field of Information, Communication Technology and has done stories along this sector in need of seeing the development of ICTs.

  • ICT 2010 Achievers Awards Businesswoman of the Year: Rudo Mudavanhu

    Rudo Mudavanhu went into ICT straight from school and started as a programmer. She has grown in the industry since MS Dos was the thing as an operating system.

  • ICT 2010 Achievers Awards Businessman of the Year: Douglas Mboweni

    Mr Mboweni is an exemplary Zimbabwean businessman that has shown strong entrepreneurial orientation in finding creative solutions to the challenges of operating and developing a business that delivers convenience to the people of Zimbabwe during a time of considerable economic challenges.

  • ICT 2010 Achievers Awards Young Innovator of the year: Verengai Mabika

    Young Verengai Mabika is the Director of the ICT based NGO – Development Reality Institute (DRI) and his volunteering skills has earned the organisation a prestigious World Summit Youth Award Best Innovative and Creative e-Content Addressing the MDGs.

  • ICT 2010 Achievers Awards Project of the Year Public Sector: NetOne

    This project had a positive impact to society in that NetOne bridged the communication divide in all ten provinces of Zimbabwe were power outages are frequent. NetOne set up solar powered base stations in hard hit areas such that there is constant connectivity for the masses in the affected areas.

  • ICT 2010 Achievers Awards ICT Civil Society/ NGO: Childline Zimbabwe

    Childline Zimbabwe’s core function is to provide children with counselling services via the telephone. This ICT basis forms the foundation on which all awareness raising is conducted. Through promoting the toll-free 116 crisis line, Childline is promoting the use and access to ICT for all children across the country.

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