By 
By Ross Moyo
A single bundle replaces three buys as NetOne has officially retired the Khuluma 24/7 voice-only package and replaced it with Freedom Bundles, a converged offering that combines voice, SMS, and mobile data into one purchase. Prices start at US$0.20 and scale to US$12, giving Zimbabweans the option to buy once and stay connected across all three channels. For a market where many users previously had to split their spend between airtime, bundles, and text, this is a deliberate move to cut friction and simplify decisions at the till.
On Network strategy: data-first on 4G/LTE, the product shift is more than cosmetic. It reflects NetOne’s network strategy to push more users onto data-centric services across its 4G/LTE footprint. By packaging SMS and data with voice, NetOne is aligning with GSMA’s “unified bundle” playbook, which operators globally use to reduce ARPU churn and increase daily active users. In practice, that means a subscriber who buys a US$2 bundle is now likely to use data for WhatsApp or browsing instead of exhausting voice minutes first.
Tiering for different wallets the US$0.20 entry tier is aimed squarely at base-of-pyramid users, students, and daily commuters who need a small top-up to get through the day. At the US$12 end, NetOne is targeting families and SMEs who want multi-day coverage without the hassle of daily recharges. That spread ensures the product is not exclusive to one income band, but rather a ladder that users can move up as their needs grow.
Dollar-A-Day becomes standalone alongside Freedom Bundles, where the telcos has spun out Dollar-A-Day as a standalone daily product. For US$1, subscribers get 85 on-net minutes, 5 cross-net minutes, 70 off-peak minutes, for 160 total minutes, plus 15 SMSs. The 1:32 voice-to-SMS ratio signals a product designed for high-usage, low-data days, such as market days, funerals, or when a user is outside a 4G area.
Technical load management built in the 70 off-peak minutes are not an accident. NetOne’s radio planners use off-peak allocations to shift traffic to 10pm–6am windows when spectrum is underutilized. This helps the operator manage congestion during peak hours while giving users cheaper time to call family or run business calls at night. It is a classic capacity-balancing tactic now packaged as a consumer benefit.
Access across devices and channels subscriptions work on USSD _171#, through OneMoney APIs, via scratch cards, and at agent POS terminals. That multi-channel approach ensures feature-phone users, cash-only customers, and smartphone users all have a path to buy. In rural areas where mobile money adoption is still growing, the USSD and agent rails are critical for uptake.
Messaging around affordability, NetOne’s positioning is clear: “Communication should never be a barrier to opportunity. It should be an enabler of dreams.” By anchoring the bundles to opportunity rather than just megabytes, the company is speaking to parents, traders, and jobseekers who view connectivity as a tool, not a luxury.
Scale and inclusion across provinces rollout supports NetOne’s broader mandate of mass-market penetration and digital inclusion across Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces. With a low entry price, multi-service value, and multiple purchase rails, Freedom Bundles are designed to grow NetOne’s active base while giving consumers more control over how they connect.
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