Pricing pressure mounts on telecoms operators

Michael Tome Harare Bureau
PRESSURE is mounting on telecommunication service providers to reduce prices, as operators battle for customers, fixed telecoms company TelOne has said.

TelOne managing director Mrs Chipo Mutasa said the scramble for customers may lead to significant price cuts from operators as part of efforts to maintain or increase their market share.

“The pricing pressure is bound to continue as consumers are now demanding more for less; this is the reality telecommunications operators in Zimbabwe are already experiencing as they compete for customers.

“This puts operators under pressure to reduce prices in order to maintain and increase market share,” Mrs Mutasa said.

Mrs Mutasa noted that growing competition in the sector had kept TelOne on its feet to stay abreast of demands of the highly innovative and dynamic industry.

“TelOne is therefore continuously seeking for cheaper ways to bring in bandwidth into the country; we have an innovation department which has been set up to ensure the company’s agility and responsiveness to changing trends.

“The Bulawayo-Beitbridge optic fibre backbone, which we expect to commission by the third quarter of 2017 will enhance capacity to offer faster speeds at even lower prices to our customers,” said Mrs Mutasa.

The TelOne managing director pointed out that customers needed convenience, favourable prices, top end product quality and easily accessible services.