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Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporter
ECONET Wireless subscribers yesterday woke up to a shocker after the leading mobile network operator hiked tariffs once again.
In a statement, Econet notified subscribers of the new data tariffs which were effected yesterday.
“Dear valued customer, please note that our Voice, Data and SMS out of bundle tariffs as per regulatory approval effective Tuesday 29 October are as follows: Voice- ZWL $0,016 per second, data – ZWL$0,1926 per megabyte, SMS -ZWL $0,2440 per SMS,” read the statement.
In the new tariffs, international calls will range from $5,55 per minute-$243 per minute. A source said the $243 per minute will be for the areas hardest to reach.
Hundreds of disgruntled subscribers took to social media yesterday, lamenting the tariffs increase.
Efforts to get a comment from Econet were fruitless yesterday.
Speaking in a telephone interview yesterday, National Consumer Rights Association (NACORA) coordinator, Mr Effie Ncube said the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) must act on data tariffs to protect consumers.
“The cost of data now is like the cost of fuel and electricity as it affects a lot of other services. Cost of data influences cost of education as in the new curriculum learners are expected to conduct a lot of online research. Data is now at the centre of education, business, trading, transactions.
“A lot of trading is now done online therefore increasing data will have ripple effects on a lot of other goods and services that require an internet connection. The cost of banking will go up,” said Mr Ncube. —@andile_tshuma
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