Chronicle Editor
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Business Reporter
ONE of the country’s leading internet service providers, Utande are looking at expanding their business operations in Bulawayo as well as surrounding areas with massive investment in supporting infrastructure.
With more Zimbabweans working from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic from last year, that has led to an increase in demand for internet services.
In an interview, Utande chief executive officer Mr Never Ncube said they have also seen a growing need to expand the provision of their services to different markets across the country. This has led the internet service provider to invest in infrastructure expansion for fibre, WiMAX, LTE and data centre services in Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare.
Utande caters for residential homes, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporates. In Bulawayo, Utande have installed six base stations with plans to set up another one in the next few weeks. Utande are planning to have the whole of Bulawayo covered in the next five years.
“Specific to Bulawayo, we have set up three WiMAX base stations and three LTE base stations and in the next fortnight we will be setting up the fourth base station in Burnside. However, in the next five years, our objective is to provide coverage to the entire City of Bulawayo using different solutions to include fibre, WiMAX, LTE and VSAT (satellite communications system),’’ said Mr Ncube.
A face-lift of Utande’s data centre in Bulawayo was recently conducted to meet increased demand for cloud services brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns have also driven the demand for cloud services as organisations are pushing their employees to work from anywhere. As a result, we have recently completed the revamp of the Bulawayo Data Centre to create more space for cloud services. Our expansion into Bulawayo will go beyond city coverage but extend into the greater part of Matabeleland and Midlands targeting mines, lodges, schools, farms, SMEs and large corporates,’’ said Mr Ncube.
Due to slow activity in Victoria Falls, Utande temporarily closed their Victoria Falls branch at the beginning of this year but continue to service that market from the Bulawayo office. As part of their expansion, Utande will be opening a new branch in the Midlands Province.
Utande last Saturday entered into a partnership with Highlanders Football Club, which will see the internet service provider cater for salaries for 27 contracted Bosso first team players in a deal worth Z$3,6 million.
Mr Ncube said they appreciate the part played by sport in community growth and are looking to leverage on Bosso’s rich legacy to gain the visibility they so badly need.
“We are a responsible brand who believes in the role that sports play in community development and social cohesion. This partnership came naturally to us given the strength of Highlanders Football Club’s legacy in the Matabeleland region.
“We also believe that by riding on that legacy it will give us the much-needed brand visibility, as we expand our presence in the same region. People will naturally associate Highlanders with Utande and create the much-needed emotional connection with the club they so much admire and love,’’ he said.
At the moment, Utande have 14 workers in the southern region and a total workforce of 125 nationally.
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