TELECOMMUNICATIONS firm Econet Wireless says its year-on-year capital expenditure closed the third quarter of 2024 at 18% of revenues driven by network mordenisation to support growth in usage and improve service quality.
This comes as the group successfully modernised its network to enable advanced digital use cases such as high-quality voice calls over 4G/LTE network.
The efforts saw base station modernisation continuing, with 16 new sites and the upgrading of 33 radio access sites and 270 microwave access links and an additional 20 5G sites commissioned nationwide.
In a trading update for Q3 ending November 30, 2024, Econet said the envisaged growth in mobile broadband and digital services require the business to continue modernising the network infrastructure to remain agile in its service offering and deliver the expected quality of service.
“Smart4Home, our new fixed wireless product, is being targeted [by] high-volume data users in response to evolving and growing data use needs,” the firm said.
“Compared to the same quarter last year, voice and data usage increased by 20% and 36% respectively. Demand for data is forecast to remain firm and on an upward trajectory.
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Capital expenditure on a year-to-date basis closed the quarter at 18% of revenue and was largely incurred on modernising the network to support the growth in usage and improve service quality.”
During the period, the mobile money business continued to register steady growth largely driven by a 55% increase in active subscribers and a 79% increase in wallet funding.
Econet said this business continued to actively onboard more payment partners in alignment with the strategy to establish a universal payment platform that prioritises convenience and value for customers.
Econet added that the growth in mobile money volumes and transactions reflects gains it continues to make towards improved financial inclusion.
In terms of performance, the group recorded a 69% ZiG growth in revenue relative to the comparative period largely anchored by a 42% increase in revenue for the mobile network operations and the acquisition of the financial technology businesses.
“The group remains committed to delivering value to all its stakeholders and will continue to invest in digital transformation, embracing AI [artificial intelligence] and actively pursuing strategic opportunities to enhance and complement our product and service portfolio,” Econet said.
“There are significant growth opportunities in digital payments, driven by increasing adoption of mobile wallets.”