Zimbabwe - Regulator to release $24 millions to extend services in rural areas

[bloomberg] Zimbabwe’s telecommunications regulator will transfer $24 million to phone companies this year to extend services to rural areas.

The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe will allocate the money to fixed-line and wireless service providers from the “universal fund,” to which all phone companies pay a levy, the regulator’s director general, Charles Sibanda, said today in a phone interview from the capital, Harare.

State-owned TelOne is the southern African country’s only fixed-line service. Harare-listed Econet Wireless Holdings Ltd. is the biggest mobile phone operator, followed by state-owned NetOne and Telecel Zimbabwe, a subsidiary of Telecel International Ltd.

Zimbabwe's Phone Companies Will Get $24 Million to Expand to Rural Areas