Huge boost for NetOne

US$45 million loan agreement with the China Exim Bank to fund network expansion and other modernisation projects.
Stanbic Bank will handle the fund disbursement for the projects to be undertaken by Huawei Technologies of China, long-term partners with NetOne.
An elated NetOne managing director Mr Reward Kangai yesterday said he was optimistic that the company would tap into the growth opportunities that lay ahead.
“This is an exciting development since we were waiting for capital injection to oil our operations, especially on network expansion and modernisation.
“This money will be channelled towards not only rolling out more base stations in previously uncovered areas to cast our coverage net even wider, but also towards providing our customers with access to the Internet,” he said.
NetOne is a State-owned mobile phone service provider that has been lagging behind the two other companies in the sector, Econet and Telecel, due to capital constraints.
The loan was ratified by Parliament late last year and comes with a grace period of five years during which only the interest and no principal is payable by NetOne to the Chinese bank.
The loan could not have come at a more opportune time as other competing networks, Econet and Telecel are racing with the rollout of 3G and 4G technology which has improved Internet access for most cellphone users.
Mr Kangai said his company was looking forward to increased co-operation between China Exim Bank and Huawei Technologies in the company’s next phase of development of the network as it seeks to improve performance.
“We are currently rolling out wireless broadband base stations to ensure that our customers can soon be accessing high speed wireless services on our network.
“NetOne is already rolling out high-speed wireless infrastructure, and this shot in the arm by China Exim Bank, could not have come at a more opportune time, given the high capital requirements for such an infrastructure deployment.”
Last year NetOne unlocked capacity on its Harare-based Mobile Switching Centre to allow the network to serve more customers and expanding the access network to reach out to other parts of the country.
The company has two mobile switching centres, one from Huawei Technologies in the southern region stationed in Bulawayo that was upgraded in 2009 with a marked improvement of service quality and the other in Harare supplied by Nokia Siemens Networks.
NetOne recently replaced its old legacy MSC in Harare with a ‘soft switch’ that uses the Internet Protocol (IP) for routing calls, a move that was not only a major technological leap but also expanded the capacity of the network.
With the other firms investing heavily in broadband service, NetOne will have to accelerate its rollout programme to ensure that it keeps abreast of the latest trends in communications. Taking advantage of its wide network coverage, the mobile phone company has to focus on retaining its customers while at the same time adding value to the services they provide.