• We’ll hit 6 million subscribers by end of September, says Econet

    When Econet announced yesterday that it is ready to launch its mobile money service, it also disclosed one interesting number. That number is 6 million. At the end of this month, Econet says it will cross the 6 million mark in mobile subscribers.

  • Press Release: Econet prepares launch of mobile payment system

    Econet Wireless will at end of the month launch a mobile payment system that makes it possible for Zimbabweans to pay for anything using their cellphones. The company has spent millions of dollars on developing the system, which will be launched to its over 5-million customers, completely eliminating the need for any notes for purchases…

  • Econet adds mobi version to EconetMail. Our thoughts on it

    About 3 weeks ago, a contact at Econet informed us that Econet is launching a mobile version of the EconetMail service. The address is econetmail.mobi. We have since tried out. Our opinion is that it’s not a great product. In fact it’s just not a good product right now. See, the mobile version is just…

  • Econet provides free unlimited Wi-Fi internet at Agric show

    As you may probably know, The Harare Agriculture show is in full swing right now. The annual show is Zimbabwe’s largest agriculture exhibition and attracts even businesses from non-agric sectors. One such is Econet, Zimbabwe’s largest telecoms firm.

  • Press Release: Econet launches SMS campaign for Somalia aid

    ECONET Wireless has launched a campaign that enables its customers to send desperately needed aid relief to famine-stricken Somalia via SMS. The “Save a Life” SMS campaign will raise funding to support an international aid effort in Somalia, where a combination of the worst drought in 60 years and armed conflict has left an estimated…

  • Econet Wireless trampling on the same rights it used to fight for

    So, we’re also shocked by Econet’s move to gag Alpha Media and its partners over Econet stories deemed defamatory. We’re shocked because we didn’t expect this from Econet of all companies. And we’re also shocked because, whatever Econet articles were written by Alpha Media, we somehow didn’t see the defamatory side of the story. We…

  • Econet appeals to Supreme Court. Trustco fires journo over Econet article

    When judgment was handed down last week against Econet in the Econet Vs Trustco case, the Namibian mobile firm was quick to announce to the market that it would be business as usual in Zimbabwe. It appears Trustco was keen to assure shareholders the mess in Zim had cleared up, or maybe they just believed…

  • Trustco vs Econet: Econet to appeal order to re-engage Trustco

    Earlier today, we posted news of yesterday’s Zim high court judgment ordering Econet to restore the Ecolife relationship with Trustco and to “refrain from undertaking and implementing a competing, infringing service” to Trustco’s. So far, Trustco has announced that it’s business as usual in Zimbabwe for Trustco Mobile. This may not be the case. It’s…

  • Econet vs Trustco: High Court hands down interim order against Econet

    We’ve just received news that the High Court of Zimbabwe handed down an interim order against Econet in response to Trustco’s application for an interdict last month. The interdict sought to enforce Econet’s compliance with the Ecolife contractual obligations and to prohibit the company from infringing on Trustco’s intellectual property apparently by deploying the same…

  • Zellco entrepreneur launches Contravase. To sell mobile phones & Econet services

    A new company called Contravase has emerged in Zellco place. According to communication received from Big Chitima, the entrepreneur behind the company, Contravase has taken over Zellco’s assets and distribution network.

  • Econet chairman: Cut us some slack, we’re doing the best we can

    Econet had an AGM on Friday which brought out very interesting information, Newsday has a story on this. For starters NetOne and TelOne reportedly owe a collective $70million; the said debt has been outstanding for a while now such that Econet has approached government to assist with recovering it. TelOne is acknowledged as admitting its…

  • Econet reduces price of Huawei Android smartphone. Accidentally promotes competitor.

    According to a press ad published in yesterday’s Sunday Mail, Econet Wireless has reduced the price of the Android powered Huawei U8100 from $249 to $200. This is a very positive move on the part of the operator. Huawei is by design a consumer brand targeted at the mass market and not the premium market.

  • Africom quietly interconnects with Econet

    When Africom launched its mobile phone service last month, it conspicuously lacked one thing any mobile operator needs to offer voice – Interconnection to other operators. The company only had live interconnection to the country’s smallest mobile operator (by number of subscribers), Telecel. The interconnection deal that matters most, the Econet one, wasn’t done yet.

  • Econet offloads Rainbow Tourism Group – hopefully to focus on core business

    According to a press release we received on Thursday afternoon, Econet Wireless has sold its shareholding in Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG). A senior Econet Wireless Group Executive, Tracy Mpofu, confirmed the sale. Techzim believes this is a progressive move on the part of Econet as it should be focused on improving the quality of its…

  • TrustCo suspends journalists over Econet stories

    A Namibian publication reported today that Trustco Holdings has suspended (without pay) two journalists working for a newspaper it owns called Informanté. The suspensions have been handed out to the two following a story carried by the newspaper concerning the fallout between Trustco Mobile and Econet Wireless Zimbabwe.

  • ForgetMeNot Africa offers free SMS service to Econet numbers

    No sooner had we posted the article (and our thoughts) on Free SMS Zimbabwe yesterday than we got pointed to a free SMS service by ForgetMeNot Africa (FMNA). The service is called Dasuba. It’s still in Beta for now but it’s available to anyone with access to the web. Just go to www.dasuba.com to give…

  • Econet, only mobile operator using Facebook to engage customers

    Facebook is just one of those platforms that a lot of internet users spend their time on. The platform (and other social media websites) has long been recognised as a business platform that companies can use to interface with consumers. Some local brands have successfully used the platform to communicate and stay in constant touch…

  • Econet Energy: Well placed to power Southern Africa

    Renewable energy is a sector on flux. Global greats like Google have risen to the challenges imposed by global warming and rising demand for energy through investments in sustainable power sources. Solar City is one such company that has benefitted from the energy race; Google has invested $280 million so far in the company. For…

  • Econet, POTRAZ, and the regulation of BlackBerry services in Zimbabwe

    At the end of March this year, we reported that Econet’s intention to launch BlackBerry services had attracted the interest of the government. This we observed in an article in a state owned weekly newspaper, The Sunday Mail. Yesterday, the Sunday Mail had another report on the matter. This time the paper reports that the…

  • Why Econet and Trustco Mobile fell out

    Today, the reasons behind the Econet and Trustco fallout have started to come out. Econet chairman Tawanda Nyambirai says Econet approached Trustco with complaints of breach of the contract between the two companies. Trustco apparently then threatened to terminate the agreement believing it could use its technical leverage to have its way.

  • Econet issues press release on the Ecolife agreement termination with Trustco

    Today, Econet issued a press release to reassure customers they are not going to lose their Ecolife cover and that there’ll have another system running in place of the Trustco Mobile one whose agreement was terminated. The release doesn’t say much that Econet hasn’t already said in its public notices since Monday.

  • Trustco abruptly terminates Ecolife agreement with Econet

    Trustco Group Holdings, the Namibian technology partner behind Econet and FML’s Ecolife life insurance product has terminated the agreement for the provision of the system. This has left Econet unable to add more subscribers to the service while they make a move to a new system.

  • Some 1.8 million Econet subscribers use mobile broadband

    At the “Thinking Global” ICT conference held in Harare two days ago, Econet disclosed the number of subscribers using mobile broadband internet services on its network. That number is a staggering 1.8 million. Staggering because that’s more than 30% of the total Econet subscribers (5,500,000).

  • More than 1.6 million Econet subscribers have registered for Ecolife

    Last week, Econet’s Namibian partner, Trustco Group Holdings, revealed that by 31 March this year, 1.6 million Econet subscribers had registered for the Ecolife insurance service. That’s more than 30% of Econet’s total subscribers. The information was made available at the announcement of Trustco financial results by Head of Corporate Strategy, Desnei Leaf-Camp. Here’s an…

  • 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…

  • Econet’s promotional broadband prices not that promotional

    As Telecel announced the opening of its mobile broadband test to all subscribers yesterday, Econet posted colorful adverts in the newspapers declaring “Up to 50% off on broadband tariffs. Now you can enjoy more broadband for less.”

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Econet posts mega profits, grows subscribers base to 5.5 million

    Econet has just released its financial results for the full year to February 2011. It’s another mega profits year for Zimbabwe’s largest telecoms firm; profits after tax for the period stand at US$140.9 million this year, up 24% from last year’s results.

  • Econet warns subscribers of disconnections as registration grace period expires

    When the mobile registration deadline expired last month, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) conceded to a one month grace period before mobile operators start disconnecting unregistered subscribers. The grace period expires tomorrow. As it approaches, Econet has started issuing warnings through the press to subscribers that come the end of the…

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