Starlink Users in Zimbabwe Surge 31.62% as VSAT Subscriptions Hit 67,057

By Ross Moyo

VSAT subscriptions in Zimbabwe jumped 31.62% in Q4 2025, reaching 67,057, according to POTRAZ data.

The growth was “driven by Starlink Zimbabwe,” which recorded a 42.76% increase in internet/data traffic to 168.21 Petabytes.

Starlink’s traffic market share among fixed IAPs rose 8.32 percentage points to 35.05%, second only to Liquid’s 48.41%.

Overall fixed internet/data traffic grew 8.86% to 479.94 PB, with Starlink a major contributor.

Active fixed internet/data subscriptions rose 8.25% to 389,146 across all technologies.

Fixed LTE led with 143,323 subscriptions, up 6.99%, while fibre subscriptions grew 7.42% to 86,225.

DSL declined 1.73% to 87,713 and WiMAX fell 13.17% to 1,305, showing a shift to newer technologies.

CDMA dropped 22.77% to just 78 active subscriptions, continuing its phase-out.

The VSAT surge reflects demand for high-speed connectivity in underserved and rural areas where fibre is unavailable.

Starlink’s low-latency satellite service has been adopted by businesses, farms, schools, and remote households.

POTRAZ reported that used international incoming bandwidth capacity rose 10.88% to 604,440 Mbps.

Equipped international bandwidth capacity increased 6.46% to 1,688,770 Mbps, led by African Fibre Networks.

Despite Starlink’s growth, Liquid Intelligent Technologies still leads fixed VoIP with 53.52% market share.

TelOne, with 4,046 km of fibre, remains a key backbone provider, but faces competition from satellite.

The report suggests VSAT will remain critical for last-mile connectivity as Zimbabwe pursues universal broadband.