Telecel to cover 85% Zimbabwe connectivity

Telecel's chief executive officer, Francis Mawindi, told a media conference in Harare on Tuesday, 18 September 2012, that the mobile company was expected to cover 90% of the country's network by the end of next year with plans of an aggressive network expansion drive.

"By the end of the year we expect to have completed the installation of base stations at more than 200 new sites, bringing to more than 575 - the number of base station sites we have altogether," Mawindi said.

In addition to the expansion, Telecel had increased capacity in areas where there had been an increased demand for its voice and data services, he added.

Back-up batteries and generators had been installed so coverage can continue when there were power failures. It was also putting in back-up transmission links, so that, if a link fails, the standby link could be used.

Mawindi also said Telecel was also expanding its retail network. By the end of the year it expected to have increased the number of retail outlets it had from 12 to 18.