50%of mobile network revenue driven by data, while voice recorded 39%

By Ross Moyo

Zimbabwe’s Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) 50% of mobile network revenue was driven by data, while voice recorded 39%.This was revealed in the latest Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) fourth quarter report.

Mobile internet/data services were the biggest revenue contributor at 50.75%, overtaking voice for the second consecutive quarter.

Voice contributed 39.16%, SMS 6.18%, and other services 3.91%, confirming the sector’s data-centric shift.

The trend aligns with an 11.27% surge in mobile data traffic to 160.33 PB, versus 9.04% growth in voice to 5.07 billion minutes.

Econet accounted for 88.32% of voice traffic, up 1.63 percentage points, while NetOne and Telecel lost share.

SMS traffic fell 3.49% to 2.77 billion, as OTT platforms like WhatsApp continued to displace traditional texting.

WhatsApp alone consumed 33.17 PB, or 20.69% of total mobile data traffic.

YouTube and Facebook followed at 9.53% and 7.89% respectively, with “Other” apps at 61.48%.

ARPU rose 4.13% to ZWG 460.99, meaning the average subscriber generated more revenue despite SMS declines.

Operating costs grew faster than revenue, up 11.52% to ZWG 4.64 billion, raising the cost-to-income ratio to 59.95%.

MNOs invested heavily in infrastructure, with capex up 112% to ZWG 1.08 billion.

Deployment included 47 new 5G sites, 167 LTE sites, 98 3G sites, and 68 2G sites.

Total 5G base stations reached 366, with 18.9% of the urban population now covered.

Zimbabwe generated ZWG 7.74 billion in Q4 2025, up 6.33% from Q3, the POTRAZ data showsed. POTRAZ said the capex surge reflects operators “balancing critical infrastructure investment with economic realities.”

The report forecasts continued data revenue growth as 5G and AI services expand in 2026.