The Zimbabwe Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Potraz) has approved, with immediate effect, an increase in voice, data and SMS tariffs by 55.64%. This is the third consecutive increase in telecom tariffs by the public body.

According to the telecom regulator, the increase is to catch up with the constantly rising operating costs that increasingly affect the telecom sector. Potraz explains that it decided to proceed with this new tariff increase because previous prices had become too low due to the continued deterioration of the country's economy. Prices per minute call, SMS and megabyte of mobile data have increased from $0.75, $0.19 and $0.15 to $1.17, $0.30 and $0.23, respectively.

In a press release issued on 12 March 2020, Potraz's MD Gift Machengete (pictured) said that “tariff thresholds for telecommunication services were last adjusted in October last year using the August 2019 Telecommunications Price Index (TPI) figures.”