Business Reporter
NETONE intends to grow its revenue by more than 200 percent to US$230 million by 2025 when its capital investment programme is expected to start paying dividends.
In 2023, the State owned telecoms firm generated US$74 million against a budget of US$77,3 million ($193 billion against a target of $145,1 billion in local currency terms).
The mobile network operator recently said data traffic now contributed 51 percent to the current revenue mix while voice traffic accounted for the balance.
In the first five months to May 2024 this year, the MNO realised combined revenue of US$62,8 million against the budgeted US$68,2 million.
NetOne is implementing various strategies aimed at driving revenue growth.
These include a wide product offering.
The MNO has already launched One Gaming and One Money Bureau De Change-under the One Money Remit, among other innovations.
Under One Money, NetOne is targeting growth in transaction value per customer.
According to NetOne, this would be attained through the promotion of US dollar cash-in for electronic airtime purchases, and customer cash-in at sim registration.
The company also plans to introduce a new One Money system.
One Money has been widely used for payment systems that include utility bill payments, airtime purchases, and online shopping, providing added convenience for users.
NetOne has lately been channeling more resources towards data and internet services use, as data traffic continues to dominate the firm's revenue contribution compared to voice.
The network expansion programme is meant to allow high-speed data activities that also enable business intelligence as information would flow with little difficulty.
This comes as subscribers are increasingly using cloud-based communication tools and video conferencing, reducing reliance on traditional mobile voice calls.
In 2023, the MNO invested a total of US$17 million and $12 billion in capital expenditure as part of efforts to optimise network coverage, particularly internet and data services.
About US$660 000 of the capex was deployed to network upgrades, while US$4,8 million was assigned to core network equipment, including routers and switching apparatus.
NetOne said US$516 000 was used for channel element boards, and an ERP system worth US$714 000 was acquired.
Some of the funding went towards the tower redeployment project, rollout of 3G sites capacity upgrades, installation of new radio network controllers.
"Our greatest financial ambition is to be a US$230 million revenue business by 2025 and strengthen our profitability by 35 percent.
"As part of those efforts in 2023, our USD revenue increased as we launched the new packet core network which saw an increase of 100 percent billed data traffic after launch.
"Through our revenue strategic initiatives in 2023, One Money saw a recovery from a failure to meet the 2022 financial target by 29 percent to achieving above-set target in the 2023 financial year by 414 percent," said NetOne chief executive officer Raphael Mushanawani during the firm's 2023 annual general meeting.
Through its national mobile broadband project, the MNO plans to install over 340 base stations across the country predominantly 3G,4G, and 5G technologies as the scheme moves to augment NetOne's network coverage mainly in border areas countrywide.
This includes addition of mobile stations in marginalised areas, making sure that mobile base stations are deployed ubiquitously.
According to Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), MNOs capital expenditure grew by 39,14 percent to $162, 96 billion (approximately ZiG 65,2 million) from $117 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In the 2024 first-quarter capital expenditure by MNOs grew by 16,31 percent in real terms on the back of an anticipated surge in telecommunications and ICT services demand.
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The capex was mainly directed at Long-Term Evolution (LTE), 5G, and fibre expansion projects.
"The sector is set for increased investment, competition, and innovation, albeit the negative effects of the El Nino-induced drought," said Potraz.
Organisations and entities' adaptation to technological advancement and digital transformation to suit the ever-changing business landscape is expected to sustain the demand for information communication technology solutions going forward.
Digital transformation is projected to create a positive growth environment for Zimbabwe's telecommunications sector, as it drives demand for innovative solutions, which are critical for new-age business opportunities.
The projected growth is expected to create opportunities for indigenous telecoms companies in the short-medium term, through the provision of innovative products and services that include cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.
