Many of you will attest that mobile networks in Zimbabwe are acting up lately. All mobile network operators (MNOs) in Zimbabwe are found wanting on this issue. Recently I ended up being a regular caller of NetOne Customer Care owing to the erratic data network in my area. I have to applaud NetOne on its customer care service; they are really good. NetOne ended up sending an engineer to my location and the engineer met up with me. Turns out the issue was congestion-related and due to lags in upgrades, amongst other things. It was clear from our conversation that there is a need for more base stations. So the latest on the NetOne broadband project somehow excites me.
The NMBB3 Expansion Project
So today, on the 20th of September, NetOne launched the NMBB3 Expansion Project. NMBB3 standing for National Mobile BroadBand Phase 3. The event was graced by President E.D. Mnangagwa who was the guest of honour and commissioner of the project. The event was held at NetOne’s Cleveland Base Station. That is where the equipment to be used for the project is housed.
The expansion project is going to see 300 new base stations being set up. They will be installed with 5G technology which is something highly anticipated. The project is being rolled out as a partnership between NetOne and Huawei. The thrust by NetOne is to reach total coverage of Zimbabwe.
Let Us Explore Some Things
This latest development is not without its public criticisms. For starters, many base stations are still to have 4G. Would it not be a better starting point to upgrade all current base stations to 4G? Then they can bring in new base stations with the 5G. This is something that I got thinking as well and it does make sense. The truth is some areas only need upgrades from 3G to 4G to address the network woes there. You would be amazed to know that some areas, especially rural do not even have 2G. Some areas do not even have network coverage at all. Anyways, maybe they will roll out the new base stations whilst also upgrading the existing ones.
Then there is also another concern cited by many people. There are a handful of mobile devices that handle up to 5G in Zimbabwe. Thus some people think that bringing in 5G might be a waste or premature. This is because the vast majority of Zimbabweans will not be able to even enjoy the 5G. For what it is worth some devices do not even support 4G. So this is yet another aspect that brings into question whether or not the 5G rollout is necessary yet in Zimbabwe.
Overall, the burning concern cited is on the current state of their network. The common and recurring public sentiment is that they should work on that first. Even looking at the 300 base stations in question, some feel they will not be enough to provide widespread coverage. I think this must all be considered by NetOne. Otherwise, this latest development will be nothing but an attempt to set lofty records or outshine Econet.
Roll out of such a project is expected to bring enormous benefits for Zimbabwe. Some of those projected benefits are GDP growth, bridging the digital divide (or inequality), enterprise development, economic development, employment creation, enhanced productivity, smart health, smart education, smart cities, and e-government, amongst others. Some have also highlighted that this might push Econet to act as well. It would be great to see the two major MNOs racing towards 5G coverage. Some are of course sceptical that NetOne will not be able to deliver. I guess time will tell but I think they will deliver. If NetOne manages to outpace Econet, that might bring in an interesting era of mobile services in Zimbabwe. What do you think about this latest NetOne development? Yay or Nay?
