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Zimbabwe’s digital transformation gathered significant momentum in the final quarter of 2025. The national internet penetration rate increased to 84.55% in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 82.87% in the previous quarter. This is according to the latest Abridged Sector Performance Report released by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ).
The Q4 2025 report shows a 1.68 percentage point increase in internet penetration from the previous quarter’s 82.87%, driven by a 2.02% rise in active internet and data subscriptions from 12.99 million to 13.25 million. Broadband penetration also strengthened, rising 2.05 percentage points to 82.63%.
Mobile internet remained the dominant access technology, accounting for 12.86 million subscriptions, a 1.84% quarterly increase. However, the most striking growth came from VSAT connections, which soared by 31.62%, largely attributed to the continued rollout and adoption of Starlink services in the country. Fixed LTE and active fibre subscriptions also recorded solid gains of 6.99% and 7.42%, respectively.
Total mobile internet and data traffic surged 11.27% to 160.33 petabytes (PB) in Q4 2025, up from 144.09 PB in Q3. Fixed internet traffic followed a similar trajectory, rising 8.86% to 479.94 PB. The report notes that this robust growth reflects a powerful shift toward data-intensive consumption habits, supported by the deployment of high-speed networks. Notably, Starlink Zimbabwe’s data traffic jumped 42.76%, from 117.83 PB to 168.21 PB.
Among mobile applications, WhatsApp alone accounted for 20.69% of total mobile data usage, followed by YouTube (9.53%) and Facebook (7.89%). The category labelled Other, including TikTok, Instagram, and Netflix, made up 61.48%, underscoring the role of high-definition video streaming and aggressive pre-loading in inflating data consumption.
Mobile data services have become the primary revenue driver for mobile network operators, contributing 50.75% of total revenue in Q4 2025. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) rose 4.13% to ZWG 460.99 per quarter.
On the infrastructure front, the deployment of next-generation networks accelerated, with 167 new LTE base stations and 47 additional 5G base stations rolled out, bringing total 5G stations to 366. Currently, 95.9% of the urban population is covered by LTE, while 18.9% of urban residents now have access to 5G services.
POTRAZ noted that the positive trajectory is expected to continue into 2026, driven by aggressive fibre, 4G, and 5G rollouts, and further catalysed by the launch of the Zimbabwe National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2026–2030).
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