‘State won’t force its hand on telecoms firms’

The suggestion that telecommunications companies should share infrastructure is not an order but a proposal aimed at reducing operating costs and making services cheaper, a Cabinet Minister said yesterday.

Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Minister Supa Mandiwanzira said the Government was encouraging dialogue among operators to resolve the contentious issue.

Minister Mandiwanzira recently suggested that telecommunications firms should share infrastructure to cut their operating costs and in turn reduce consumer charges, a proposal that Econet has resisted arguing that the proposal was akin to allowing other service providers to benefit from its investment since it has the most developed infrastructure.

Econet said it viewed the proposal as a plan to compulsorily acquire its base stations and sites, including fibre optic network.

Minister Mandiwanzira dismissed the allegation, saying that Government would not force its hand on the telecommunications companies.

“It is our belief as a ministry that players can agree and share the same tower and by doing so it saves costs for themselves. They become more efficient and of course it enables them to offer services to their customers at a lesser cost than they are currently doing because their capital expenditure is reduced,” he said.

“We are aware that there are some considerations and concessions to be made to make this possible. We are looking at ways on how this can be achieved and we are not going to rush into forcing anyone to share infrastructure.”

Minister Mandiwanzira said a recent survey of the telecommunications industry in Zimbabwe had revealed that costs including for data and voice services were very high.

“This is largely because of the huge investment in infrastructure and the fact that there is no sharing of that infrastructure,” he said.

“We like the fact that a lot of them (telecommunications companies) have invested in infrastructure and more continue to invest in infrastructure but we would like to encourage sharing of that infrastructure,” Minister Mandiwanzira added. — New Ziana.