AudiencScapes

Telco has launched a Skype-like service in Zimbabwe. Whether the new service will save subscribers money depends on a number of factors. AudienceScapes fellow Tawanda Karombo examines the service’s advantages and drawbacks.

By Tawanda Karombo

Harare, Zimbabwe – Citizens of Zimbabwe may soon be able to make phone calls via computer. The chief attraction of such a service, known as VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), generally lies in its inexpensive call rates. What is unclear here, however, is whether this new service will actually be able to deliver on the promise of lower calling rates.

A Zimbabwean telecommunications company, Telecontract, which trades as Telco, has connected with the state-run operator of fixed-line telephones, TelOne, to set up the VOIP service. According to a company statement, Telco's VOIP network system was commissioned this month following "three months of exhaustive interconnection tests" conducted between "the voice network of Telco and TelOne.”

VOIP enables users to make calls via computer. An internet protocol (IP) telephone handset, which is plugged into a computer or laptop, is required to access Telco's VOIP service. In a recent statement to the media here in Zimbabwe, Telco said the latest VOIP technology lowers the cost of telecommunication services. The statement described VOIP as offering a particularly good value for long-distance calls.

Whether the VOIP service will save subscribers money seems to depend on where and whom they are calling. Telco's cheapest rate is for their intranetwork calls at US$0.05 cents per minute, about the same as fixed-line phones. For international calls, rates are cheaper than other operators for calls to the United States and China (US$0.22 cents and US$0.17 cents, respectively), yet more expensive to South Africa (US$0.29 cents per minute).

Econet, the country’s biggest mobile operator, this year slashed tariffs for international calls under a special dispensation aimed at increasing revenue from international calls made by its subscribers. Econet charges US$0.24 cents per minute for international calls. Telecel charges the same rate as for local calls at US$US0.24 cents per minute.

Some consumers who spoke to AudienceScapes complained about Telco's rates for VOIP calls. "Why should a VOIP call be more expensive than a fixed landline call?" asked Patrick Tsvetu, a marketing executive with a local company. Calls from fixed phones are charged at about US$0.15 cents for three minutes.

Another expense to factor into the cost of VOIP is connecting to broadband internet, necessary to access VOIP. Broadband internet is relatively expensive in Zimbabwe, as described by a recent TechZimbabwe article.

One current structural limitation of Telco's VOIP system is that it does not encompass the country’s major mobile service operators, Telecel, Econet and NetOne. The Telco statement says the company is making efforts to ensure that interconnection between itself and the three mobile phone operators is finalized but did not offer a timeframe.

"As soon as interconnection is achieved with the rest of the operators, there will be seamless flow of traffic between Telco's customers and the customers of all the four existing licensed voice networks," stated the company’s press release.

Tawanda Karombo
Tawanda Karombo is a freelance journalist living in Zimbabwe. He has had experience with Financial, Business and Communication Reporting. He has previously written for The Financial Gazette (Business and Financial Weekly in Zimbabwe), MoneyWeb (South African Investment and Financial web publication) and The Zimbabwe Gazette (Online news publication about Zimbabwe) among others.

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