BY VARAIDZO MUDEWAIRI MEDIA Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Zimbabwe has joined civic groups in a campaign for low data tariffs to enable citizens enjoy cheap internet services.
Misa legal and information communication technology officer Nompilo Simanye told NewsDay that the campaign was aimed at bridging the digital gap among communities.
“Misa Zimbabwe is currently spearheading the #DataMustFallZW campaign, which is advocating for internet affordability in Zimbabwe as prices of data have been going up more frequently since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic started affecting communities,” she said.
“People have been working online and, therefore, we are calling for data prices to fall so that we bridge the digital divide that is there in the country between the urban, rural and other marginalised communities as internet helps in exercising constitutional human rights such as the freedom of expression and access to information.”
Simanye said the high data costs were discriminating against low-income earners and students from poor backgrounds.
She said while they were aware of the telecomunications industry’s cost drivers, there was need to strike a balance between observing human rights issues and business interests.
Last week, mobile service providers hiked mobile data tariffs, with Econet charging $6 600 for 25GB or US$57, NetOne $6 500 or US$56 for 25GB and Telecel $6 000 for 20GB or US$52.
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