Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, the country's largest mobile phone operator, has been experiencing serious transmission problems for the past two days making it almost impossible to make calls and send messages.

Several people who spoke to The Standard said they have not been able to conduct business or get in touch with relatives and friends for the past two days because they could neither phone nor use the short message service (SMS). SMSes are either not reaching intended targets or are delivered several hours after they are sent.

"It is a serious problem because I have not been able to carry out my business transactions since Friday because of poor service delivery by Econet," said Chris Mudungwe, an indigenous businessman who sells motor vehicles parts in Harare.

"In cases like this, Econet should make people aware of the problem in advance or as soon as possible because now it appears as if they don't care. "Econet Wireless Zimbabwe corporate communication manager Rangarirai Mberi confirmed that the telecommunications provider was facing transmission challenges. He said technicians were investigating the problem.

"There are challenges on our transmission network and our technicians are investigating the matter with a view to resolving the issue urgently," said Mberi. "Usually, the biggest threat to quality of service is power outages at our base stations."

In June, Econet Wireless experienced similar transmission problems which were attributed to faults in the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) grid, which also led to extended power outages. The power cuts affected the mobile phone operator's main switching centre in Harare's Willowvale area.

Econet had to install two new high-capacity generators to ensure power stability at the communications centre. The telecommunications provider has been upgrading its network and increasing the subscriber base.

Early this year the company announced that its subscriber base had reached the four million mark after a record 233 % increase within a year up from 1,2 million. The network has an overall share market of over 61% of the mobile sector.