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Speaking at the official opening of his company’s new offices in Bulawayo on Wednesday night, he said Telecel was committed to increasing network coverage in Matabeleland by putting up base stations in remote areas.
He said Bulawayo was the springboard for the company’s expansion in the region.
“In the Matabeleland region alone, we have already added 21 new base stations to our network this year and we will continue to add more. These new base stations have been installed in areas such as Tshabalala, the Mainland turn-off, Tsholotsho, Gwesi, Stanmore and Beitbridge Hospital. Some of them have been installed to extend our network to cover areas we had not reached before while others are to address capacity challenges.
“We are committed to providing services throughout the length and breadth of the country, particularly this part of the country,” he said.
He said the company had this year invested $70 million countrywide as part of an ongoing exercise to improve the network and coverage.
He said Telecel had opened an office in Victoria Falls and together with the new Bulawayo offices created 22 jobs.
Before purchasing a double storey building along Robert Mugabe Way, Telecel rented office space on the fourth floor of the Forestry Commission Building which some customers found difficult to access.
Mr Mawindi said by the end of the year, Telecel would cover 85 percent of the population.
Telecel is the country’s second largest mobile network operator by subscribers with two million people using the network.
Bulawayo Metropolitan Governor Ambassador Cain Mathema urged mobile telephone operators such as Telecel to support industrialisation of Bulawayo by helping in the setting up of companies that manufacture handsets.
He said at present, most gadgets used in mobile telecommunication were imported.
He said Telecel should consider working with local institutions such as the National University of Science and Technology to embark on research and development on communication gadgets. “We want to see Telecel working closely with colleges — here in Bulawayo we have Nust — in terms of research and development. Can Telecel assist us create an industry to produce gadgets used by the telecommunications industry?” he said.
He said the opening of new offices by Telecel was a sign of its commitment to the city and region.
Ambassador Mathema said Telecel was the company which made sim cards affordable in the country by offering them at 50 cents, forcing other operators to follow suit.
He said before that, sim cards were expensive and only available on the black market.
“We all remember the ridiculous prices people used to pay for lines which were only available on the black market. Telecel changed all that in 2010 when it slashed prices. Almost overnight, every worker could afford to buy a line,” he said.
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