Internet Subscriptions, Revenue and Data Traffic Surge in Third Quarter  

This pushed internet penetration up by 1.04 percentage points to 82.87%, while broadband penetration rose from 79.87% to 80.58%.

The growth was largely driven by mobile internet, which continues to dominate the market after subscriptions increased by 1.08% to 12.63 million.

Fixed LTE also recorded significant expansion of 12.75%, while fibre subscriptions edged up by 1.64%. Leased lines, though from a smaller base, grew by 17.53%, indicating increasing demand from businesses and institutions.

However, the shift towards faster technologies continued to weigh on legacy platforms.

DSL subscriptions declined by 2.09%, WiMAX fell by 6.59% and CDMA dropped sharply by 14.41%, underscoring the transition to more reliable and high-speed broadband solutions.

Satellite-based services emerged as a key growth driver during the quarter, while VSAT subscriptions surged by 26.91%, largely supported by the expansion of low-earth orbit providers such as Starlink, which are improving connectivity in previously underserved and remote areas.

This rising demand for connectivity translated into strong financial performance across the sector.

At the same time, operating costs declined by 12.54% to ZWG 1.92 billion, pointing to improved efficiencies among service providers.

Internet usage also recorded a sharp increase as fixed internet and data traffic rose by 18.39% to 440.89 petabytes (PB), up from 372.40 PB in the previous quarter, highlighting growing consumption of data-intensive services such as streaming and digital communication.

Market performance remained uneven across operators, with Liquid Intelligent Technologies maintaining a dominant position. The operator recorded 259.7 PB of traffic in Q3, up 11.69% from the previous quarter, giving it a commanding 58.90% market share.

Starlink emerged as the fastest-growing major player, with traffic surging by 40.37% from 83.94 PB to 117.83 PB, pushing its market share to 26.73%, reinforcing its increasing influence in the broadband landscape.

State-owned TelOne registered moderate growth of 8.50%, with traffic rising to 33.62 PB and accounting for 7.63% of total market share, while Telecontract recorded a decline of 17.47% in traffic to 10.00 PB, reducing its share to 2.27%.

The sector’s performance in the third quarter highlights Zimbabwe’s ongoing

transition towards a data-driven economy, supported by infrastructure investment, technological upgrades and growing demand for high-speed connectivity across households and businesses.

Zimbabwe’s telecommunications sector has been undergoing steady transformation over recent years, driven by increased smartphone penetration, expansion of fibre and LTE networks, and the entry of satellite broadband providers.