eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
POSTAL and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has implored the government to consider prioritising foreign currency allocations to mobile network operators as operating costs continue to increase surpassing revenue growth.
According to POTRAZ, the current economic environment is acting against the sector as the authority called for intervention at both the operator and fiscal levels.
The relentless increase in prices has seen market players lose revenue in real terms as working capital continues to grow at a rate that exceeds income growth, also leading to reduced network investment.
Consequently, this contributed to reduced capital expenditure in USD terms in the first quarter of 2022.
In a statement accompanying the telecoms first quarter performance report, POTRAZ Director General, Dr Gift Machengete said the prevailing challenges call for policy and strategic interventions at both sector and national levels.
“Monetary authorities should consider foreign currency prioritization of the sector considering the capital-intensive nature of the ICT sector,” said Dr Machengete.
The telecoms industry regulator highlighted that the current economic climate was characterised by depressed consumption and foreign currency constraints which have manifested through reduced traffic volumes.
Commenting on the issue of ICT sector’s prioritization, ICT expert Rungano Chihonde said,” The Telecoms industry is highly dependent on imported equipment and accessories which makes it eligible to be on the RBZ’s foreign currency allocation priority list.”
According to POTRAZ’s first quarter performance report, mobile internet and data traffic declined 14, 9 percent after 22 052 Terabytes of mobile internet and data were consumed.
The decline in internet and data traffic was experienced across all three mobile networks due to declined data affordability.
The dip in demand for mobile data is also attributable to receding Covid 19 lockdowns which have seen the resumption of physical interactions over virtual.
