By 
By Ross Moyo
There is an interesting trend that the telecoms sector has recorded under the POTRAZ Q1 2026 confirming movement of revenue over capital expenditure
MNO revenue fell 2.36% to ZWG 7.55 billion from ZWG 7.74B. ARPU fell 5.20% to ZWG 437.02. Voice down 8.38%, SMS down 8.89%.
But capex exploded 152% to ZWG 2.73 billion from ZWG 1.08B.
Econet and NetOne are I investing like never before while making less revenue per user. Why? Because they are still building for 5G, faster and competent speeds, while their backhauling access providers are reaping fruits.
According to POTRAZ Q1 2026 Tables 7, 8, 15, in Q1 alone: 13 new 5G sites (total now 379), 161 new LTE sites, 85 3G and 68 2G sites. Econet alone added 126 LTE and 13 5G sites.
Compare IAPs: revenue up 8.09% to ZWG 2.74B, but capex down 58.46% to ZWG 90.3M. They are harvesting.
MNOs are investing. IAPs are harvesting. That tells you where the industry thinks growth is.
Operating costs for MNOs fell only 1.25% to ZWG 4.59B, so cost-to-income ratio worsened to 60.79%. They are less efficient this quarter, but more future-proof.
With data traffic up 11.85% on mobile and 57.28% year-on-year (from 114 PB in Q1 2025 to 179.33 PB in Q1 2026), the bet is clear: spend now on LTE/5G, make money later on data volume.
Voice is slowly dying . SMS is facing extinction but still in the doldrums
. The need for speed has become real, the hunger for uploads and downloads has tripled , fibre cables are slowly being ustrained yet the future still holds busier prospects ahead
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