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Starlink’s footprint expanded drastically in the fourth quarter of 2025 with VSAT Internet technology subscriptions surging by 31.62%, marking the fastest growth rate among all Internet access technologies, the latest POTRAZ Sector Performance Report shows.
The number of active VSAT subscriptions jumped from 50,949 in Q3 2025 to 67,057 in Q4, a rise of 16,108 new users in just three months.
While we still have Zimbabweans on old vsat technology, 95% of these subscribers are purely running on the Starlink technologies
POTRAZ stated explicitly in its report that “Starlink continued to drive VSAT subscriptions”, firmly establishing the American low-orbit satellite provider as the key force behind Zimbabwe’s fastest growing Internet segment.
The surge in VSAT adoption occurred as overall national Internet/data subscriptions climbed by 2.02%, rising from 12,990,447 in Q3 to 13,252,877 in Q4 2025.
Internet penetration correspondingly increased from 82.87% to 84.55%, reflecting expanding nationwide connectivity.
While traditional technologies such as DSL, WiMAX and CDMA continued their downward trends posting declines of 1.73%, 13.17%, and 22.77% respectively , Starlink’s satellite based offering surged ahead, appealing especially to rural, remote, and underserved communities where terrestrial networks remain limited.
Beyond subscriber growth, Starlink’s impact was even more striking in terms of Internet traffic volumes. The operator posted a 42.76% increase in fixed Internet/data traffic, rising from 117.83 PB in Q3 to 168.21 PB in Q4.
This made Starlink the biggest gainer in fixed-data market share for the quarter, taking an additional 8.32 percentage points, while Liquid Intelligent Technologies experienced a sharp decline of 10.49 percentage points.
POTRAZ attributed the rapid uptake of VSAT to the affordability of Starlink kits relative to legacy VSAT providers, as well as the service’s ability to deliver high speed broadband in areas previously constrained by limited infrastructure. The regulator also noted that this sharp increase represents a trend shift in consumer preference toward flexible, location agnostic Internet solutions.
The broader Internet sector showed mixed performance. Fixed LTE subscriptions rose by 6.99%, and fibre subscriptions increased by 7.42%, indicating sustained investment in high capacity networks.
However, mobile Internet subscriptions still the backbone of national connectivity grew modestly by 1.84%, reaching 12.86 million users.
Despite the rapid growth in subscriptions, Internet Access Providers (IAPs) recorded only a 0.83% rise in revenue, from ZWG 2.51 billion to ZWG 2.53 billion, while operating costs fell by 7.06%, improving sector operational efficiency. However, ARPU per subscription declined by 6.86% as subscription growth outpaced revenue gains.
Starlink’s explosive growth has reshaped Zimbabwe’s fixed Internet landscape within a short period, intensifying competition in a market previously dominated by Liquid, TelOne, and other long standing operators.
The service’s rise coincides with surging national demand for high bandwidth applications such as video streaming, cloud services, and remote work tools, which collectively drove fixed Internet/data traffic up by 8.86% to 479.94 PB in Q4.
Analysts expect Starlink to remain Zimbabwe’s fastest growing Internet segment well into 2026, particularly as the country accelerates digital transformation and expands remote area connectivity through satellite and LTE based solutions.
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