SWEDISH telecommunications giant Ericsson is exploring opportunities to leverage fifth-generation (5G) technology to enhance productivity and efficiency in Zimbabwe’s mining sector, businessdigest can reveal.
Ericsson, with a market value of US$27,62 billion, has been operating in Zimbabwe since 1997, providing maintenance and upgrades to the mobile infrastructure of local telecommunications firms.
The Swedish firm powers more than 60% of the world’s mobile networks, enabling the use of this technology for automation, real-time data analytics, and remote monitoring in mining operations.
Zimbabwe’s mining industry contributes over 60% of the country’s export earnings and is worth billions of US dollars, hence Ericsson’s interest.
“We are looking into how we can leverage 5G to strengthen the mining industry and help it achieve some of the goals set out in the Zimbabwe 2030 plan,” said Todd Ashton, Ericsson Middle East & Africa vice president and head of Enterprise & Mission Critical, in an interview with businessdigest.
“In that environment, Ericsson would partner with Econet (Econet Wireless Zimbabwe), ultimately working to help mines improve productivity and, hopefully, even uplift the lives of people in nearby communities.”
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He, however, declined to provide investment figures.
“Here in Zimbabwe, we started working with Econet in 1997, helping them build their mobile network from 2G to 3G, 4G, and now 5G,” Ashton said.
“Overall, we have had a good experience, but the unstable economic environment has made it difficult for our customers to access the hard currency needed to invest in mobile infrastructure.”
Ericsson is leveraging Sweden’s export credit agency, EKN, to provide flexible payment terms to local telecommunication firms.
Last November, Econet revealed that it had deployed an additional 32 5G base stations in Harare, with a further 120 sites planned to modernise its network.
Then, in January, the company revealed that a further 20 5G sites were commissioned nationwide.
“We have seen significant economic development since the end of Covid-19, which presents opportunities,” Ashton said.
“As the economy grows, so does the demand for mobile networks — whether for rural connectivity, 5G-powered home broadband, or industry-specific applications. We are quite optimistic going forward.”
According to Ericsson, private 5G networks enable connected mines, delivering wide coverage, high capacity, and local survivability to ensure operations continue seamlessly, even during disruptions.
Private cellular networks, particularly Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G, not only support semi-autonomous machinery and advanced monitoring tools but also deliver exceptional reliability, broad coverage, and ultra-low latency.
Ericsson believes that by integrating 5G technology, mining becomes more efficient, sustainable, and productive.
Ashton called for reasonably priced spectrum licences, rules, and regulations governing the allocation and use of radio frequency spectrum, which is a crucial component for 5G deployment.
“Spectrum is like air — you cannot see it, but it provides the bandwidth that networks need to deliver higher-capacity services,” he said.
“If the terms around spectrum are financially reasonable and structured for the long term, our customers are more likely to invest, allowing us to help them build better networks.”
Despite Zimbabwe’s telecom sector boasting a mobile penetration rate of over 90%, the high costs associated with spectrum allocation and infrastructure development remain major obstacles to widespread 5G adoption.
