Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve, [email protected]
ZESA holdings owned tele-communications company, Powertel has intensified its drive to enhance its national backbone infrastructure, culminating in 3 842-kilometre network and the introduction of cutting-edge technologies, a boost to the nation’s digital transformation agenda.
This infrastructural development, hailed as a critical enabler for national economic development, was revealed by Powertel Acting Managing Director, Mr Willard Nyagwande, in a newsletter marking the beginning of the year.
Mr Nyagwande revealed that the year had remarkable achievements and laid out a vision for continued growth.
Powertel, a subsidiary of the Zesa Holdings group, has long been a pivotal player in Zimbabwe’s information and communication technology (ICT) landscape.
Leveraging the extensive power utility infrastructure, the company provides a robust platform for internet, data and voice services to corporate entities, Government departments, SMEs, and residential customers.
The enhancement of its backbone, the primary data highway carrying colossal amounts of traffic, is therefore not merely a corporate milestone but a national imperative.
A stronger, more extensive and reliable digital backbone is the foundation upon which modern economies are built, facilitating e-government, digital financial services, remote education, and the operations of every sector from agriculture to mining.
Mr Nyagwande linked customer and stakeholder satisfaction directly to network reliability.
“Our backbone network availability reached an outstanding 99,89 percent, largely due to the deployment of backup power units, including solar panels,” he said.
“This year, we embarked on several key projects that have positioned us as a leader in innovation. We introduced new technologies, such as SD-WAN and smart water metering systems, while expanding our backbone network to an impressive 3 842km, significantly enhancing our infrastructure.”
The introduction of Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) offers businesses more agile, secure, and cost-effective management of their connections across multiple locations.
Mr Nyagwande commended his team for a year of exceptional performance, underpinned by key service delivery metrics.
He provided a comprehensive breakdown of the company’s achievements, directly linking them to strategic infrastructure and service investments.
“We made significant strides last year. Our Customer Satisfaction Index reached an impressive 81 percent reflecting our enhanced service performance and proactive communication channels,” he said.
Mr Nyagwande further highlighted an 83 percent score in the Stakeholder Engagement Index, crediting the team’s hard work in addressing needs and introducing new services, like the *101# USSD code for online payments.
He said a standout achievement was the resolution of 90 percent of network faults within 24 hours, a marked improvement showcasing amplified operational excellence.
Meanwhile, the foray into smart water metering systems illustrates Powertel’s diversification, using its ICT expertise to provide solutions for other utility sectors, promising improved revenue collection and resource management for local authorities.
This infrastructure drive was supported by proactive commercial strategies.
“We successfully pursued revenue enhancement strategies, achieving significant reductions in internet bandwidth costs and increasing our market share through initiatives like the Door-to-Door Blitz strategy, which helped us recover lost clients and bolster our brand visibility,” Mr Nyagwande said.
Bongani Ndlovu