(Ecofin Agency) - Zimbabwean incumbent telecom operator TelOne may lose its shares in West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC).

According to Chipo Mtasa (photo), managing director of TelOne, cited by The Herald, this is due to the firm’s non-compliance with its financial obligations estimated at $10 million.  

"On WIOCC, definitely our shareholding is at risk. We have had different threats that have come through. And these are issues that we alerted our authorities on. We actually risk losing the shareholding if we don't service the debt […] We are currently engaging the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to see if we can get a workable payment plan," said Chipo Mtasa. She explained that the removal of TelOne from the capital of WIOCC would affect Zimbabwe’s access to quality internet capacities.

Thanks to its stakeholding in WIOCC which is currently a member of the Eastern African Submarine System (EASSy) consortium, TelOne can offer up to 96 STMI of guaranteed symmetrical bandwidth. Via the WIOCC, TelOne also has access to the West Coast Cable Systems (WACS), the Europe Indian Gateway (EIG), the SAT 3 and SAFE, Seacom, Sea-Me-We 3 as well as various systems.