• Playing music and movies on Ubuntu Linux

    The first thing anyone ever notices after installing Ubuntu is that they cannot play mp3s, .avi/.vob/.mpeg/ or any of their videos unless you are one of those freaks that happened to have .ogg media files in your music collection. With this discovery comes shock, anger and finally frustration.

  • POTRAZ issues Wi-Fi regulatory requirements notice

    The Postal and Telecommunications Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has this week published a public notice advising the regulatory position on the usage of Wi-Fi devices. You can view the full notice here.

  • The Econet backbone optic fibre map

    We saw the map below in Econet’s financial results briefings for 2011 and thought to post it here. It shows the progress of the fibre backbone project that the largest mobile operators is working. As you can see, the section running from Harare through Bulawayo to Beitbridge is now fully operational. It also shows the…

  • About spam and Dipleague archives on the internet

    It’s clear that Dipleague is one of the most useful classifieds services in Zimbabwe. We’ve covered Dipleague here before. It’s a basic mailing list; simple but very effective. The list generates close to 500 adverts a day! There’s something we don’t like about Dipleague: the vulnerability of members (posting ones) to spam, phishing and all…

  • Econet fixes website access issue. Our thoughts on customer support

    Last week, we complained that we couldn’t connect to the Econet websites unless we used an Econet Internet connection. We don’t use Econet for Internet at the office and we write about the mobile operator regularly so you can understand how it affected us. We were also not happy that this had gone on for…

  • Twitter not Zimbabwe’s favourite social media network

    There’s one thing that’s easy to see about Twitter and Zimbabweans; Zimbabweans just don’t tweet. I’m not talking about Zimbabweans in the Diaspora here. Adoption of these web communication tools for Zimbabweans outside the country seems just as hasty as the Americans, Britons and South Africans. I’m talking about Zimbabweans living in Zimbabwe.

  • Econet websites unavailable unless you’re using an Econet connection

    We use Mweb (now iWayAfrica) for our primary internet connection at the office. I have 3 mobile broadband dongles from Africom, Telecel and Econet, which I use in order of the most affordable and usable at any given time. Now the problem with Econet sites is that, unless I’m using the Econet dongle, I cannot…

  • Heroes of Zimbabwe’s local internet content: Zim Bloggers

    Zimbabweans have started many blogs on the internet. Some are hosted on Blogspot, some on WordPress, and some on independent blogs. The blogger keep the Internet relevant for Zimbabweans. We decided we’d just list some of the great blogs here.

  • Dipleague, how a small mailing list evolved into one of Zimbabwe’s leading classifieds

    Of the new electronic classifieds platforms to emerge in Zimbabwe’s during the past few years, Dipleague and classifieds.co.zw stand out and have achieved relative success to Zimbabwean internet users. It’s common knowledge in Zimbabwe that to get some meaningful response for a classifieds advert you cannot afford to ignore the 2 platforms. And unlike traditional…

  • 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.

  • Econet hosts Econet Mail outside Zimbabwe, and they explain why

    A friend pointed us to something strange the other day: Econet is hosting Econet Mail outside Zimbabwe. The webmail system is hosted at Rackspace in the United States.

  • Zim’s Internet slows down as PowerTel & Econet fibre cables experience outage

    PowerTel and Econet, Zimbabwe’s main suppliers of international internet bandwidth both experienced some downtime on their fibre cables yesterday.

  • 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.…

  • 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…

  • Econet to launch email system for broadband subscribers

    Econet Wireless has announced it will be launching an email system for its broadband subscribers before Christmas. Referring to email as the next phase of making Zimbabweans the most digitally connected people in Africa, Econet says it will issue broadband subscribers with free email addresses linked to the Econet mobile number.

  • Econet to switch on fibre as early as next week

    On Tuesday this week, Econet announced that it has connected the Seacom optic fibre cable and is ready to switch on once the green light is given by the regulators. Well, we have more news on that today.

  • When PowerTel’s Backbone Breaks, Zimbabwe’s Internet Grounds To A Halt

    The PowerTel fibre internet backbone broke this morning. This backbone carries most of Zimbabwe’s traffic so when it goes down, it’s a really big deal. Service Providers are forced to reroute traffic via limited satellite capacity and this create enormous congestion for the country resulting in what may be referred to as tortoise internet.

  • Open Letter To Econet And Its Founders

    Firstly, I love Econet, its brands, and the founder to bits. Having moved that out of the way, allow me to openly rebuke the one that I love.

  • Econet Says Mobile Broadband Selling Like Hot Cakes

    We’ve just received a press release from Econet with some news we can’t say we expected. Apparently, the recently launched Econet Broadband service has been a “runaway successes surpassing anything the company has experienced before.” Econet says it has connected more than 100,000 subscribers within just a week.

  • No Real Broadband Yet In Zimbabwe

    As the editor of an online magazine that is updated several times a day, the Internet is a critical tool for my team and I. Also, as a member of a web development team doing critical updates and uploads for several clients the Internet is indispensable. So it is totally frustrating the amount of down…

  • Low Turnout at This Year’s ICT Africa Exhibition

    Compared to previous editions of the ICT Africa exhibition, this year’s event saw a remarkable decline in attendance. Visitors to the exhibition park in Harare were so few the place looked empty most of the time.

  • Botswana Fibre Optic Breaks, Affects Zim ISPs

    Yesterday, the Botswana fibre optic cable that supplies wholesale International bandwidth to Powertel (a state owned Internet provider) broke. The cable damage was on a section in an area outside Francistown in Botswana.

  • 12 Reasons Your Zimbabwe Business Needs A Website

    The internet is exploding in Zimbabwe, and already businesses are seeing the benefits of being online – Isn’t time you joined in? If you’re wondering what the benefits of a website would be for your Zimbabwe business, here are a few good reasons to go for it!

  • 2010 ICT Africa Booking Details For Exhibitors

    2 weeks ago, we reported that the date for 2010 ICT Africa has been set: 13 to 15 September 2010. In the article we said that Computer Suppliers Association of Zimbabwe would, within 2 weeks, release the exhibition details for prospective exhibitors. Details like the available space, materials, contact details, and most importantly, the damage.

  • Why Internet Marketing Is Better

    I may leave out the news paper, TV (ZBC in Zimbabwe) or brochures, but I’d never exclude the internet from almost ANY business/ marketing strategy I’m involved in.

  • POTRAZ Calls ICT Providers To Help Define IAP/ISP Roles

    The Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has invited all Internet Access Providers (IAPs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to a consultative meeting to be held in Harare next week. The purpose of the meeting: to discuss the role of the IAPs and the ISPs. POTRAZ has been trying to regularize the operations…

  • Ecoweb’s 4G Mobile WiMax Coming Next Week

    We just got information that Ecoweb, the ISP arm of Zimbabwe telecoms giant, Econet, will start selling their 4G mobile WiMax next week. According to our source, Ecoweb is just waiting for an approval of the proposed pricing by the telecoms regulatory authority POTRAZ. We got a glimpse of the pricing and hey, dear reader,…

  • Portnet is HIFA 2010 Official IT Partner

    Portnet Corporation this year will be official provider of Information Technology services to the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA). This means Portnet will basically provide all the computer systems running HIFA behind the scenes. This is your servers, racks, switches, routers, desktops, laptops, networks and the like. Printers and document management equipment and…

  • Update on Zimbabwe’s Broken Sites: Still Broken

    Last year we posted an article titled “Zimbabwe’s Broken Websites: Telecoms Operators”. The article basically pointed out some glaring omissions and commissions on the websites of some of the biggest telecom companies. Most of these errors can be corrected easily with a little effort and within a few minutes. We promised to do a follow-up…