Online Reporter
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
Telecontract and Econet Wireless are locked in a legal dispute over the disruption of interconnection services, with the High Court ruling that the matter will be heard urgently.
The disagreement stems from a 2011 Interconnection Agreement (ICA) between the two telecommunications companies, which governs the exchange of voice and data traffic between their networks.
Telecontract alleges that Econet unilaterally disrupted services on January 20, 2026, in breach of the agreement, causing significant financial and operational harm.
Econet, however, defended its actions, stating that it blocked Telecontract’s traffic due to suspicious activity linked to “refilling”, a prohibited practice of manipulating call traffic.
Econet argued that such measures were necessary under the terms of the ICA to prevent fraudulent activity. The company also claimed that most of the flagged traffic had already been resolved and that the matter did not warrant urgency.
Telecontract disagreed, citing a 17 percent drop in traffic volumes and the risk of losing customers as reasons for immediate intervention.
Despite escalating the matter to Econet’s CEO and the industry regulator, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), Telecontract said it received no timely resolution, forcing it to approach the court.
Justice Joseph Chilimbe, ruling on the urgency of the case, found that Telecontract had acted diligently and that the dispute warranted urgent attention.
“No serious argument can be mounted against Telecontract’s conduct,” the judge noted, adding that the disruptions posed a significant commercial risk to the company.
The court dismissed Econet’s objection to the urgency of the matter and ruled that the case should receive priority.
The question of costs was reserved for determination in the main proceedings. The judge directed the registrar to place the matter on the roll of urgent cases.
