Zimbabwean government-owned cellco NetOne is to see a USD485 million investment under the third phase of its ongoing expansion and upgrade plan. USD218 million has been spent on the second phase of the project, mainly to expand the coverage of mobile broadband services, including 4G LTE networks, via the addition of 2,300 new cell sites. A report from The Herald cites ICT Minister Supa Mandiwanzira as saying that a further 3,000 sites will be added under the third phase, to upgrade systems and improve rural coverage, with work beginning this year.
Meanwhile, NetOne has said that it is looking to increase its subscriber base to eight million by the end of 2017. According to local telecoms regulator POTRAZ, at end-2016 the cellco had 4.71 million active subscribers from a total 5.84 million registered accounts, and while it is some way behind market leader Econet Wireless with its 6.36 million active users, NetOne has been the country’s fastest growing operator in recent quarters.
Zimbabwe,NetOne, Wireless, LTE
