Econet doubles 5G network for the marathon event in Victoria Falls!

Econet doubles 5G network for the marathon event in Victoria Falls!

The digital change in Zimbabwe gets going! Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has announced a significant expansion of its 5G network in Victoria Falls to prepare for the upcoming 2025 Econet Victoria Falls Marathon on July 6th. The company doubled the number of 5G base stations from four to eight. These strategic locations are located at Victoria Falls International Airport, the Elephant Hills Hotel and in the central business district of Victoria Falls. Such measures are not only important for the marathon event, but also for local community and tourism, explains Econet Deputy CEO Roy Chimanikire. Due to the improved digital infrastructures, the region is equipped for the increasing number of international visitors who want to participate in this popular event.

But that's not all. The Enhancements also affect the existing LTE (4G) infrastructure, which has been expanded in Victoria Falls and along the road from Bulawayo to Victoria Fall. Upgrade of this kind is not only important for events, but also raises the availability and quality of mobile services for the residents in the region.

partnership with Ericsson for 5G future

In order to further consolidate the technical foundations, Econet signed a new agreement with Ericsson at the Mobile World Congress 2025. This partnership focuses on the expansion of Econet's core network infrastructure to support 5G standalone (SA) functions. According to tech-ish strives to increase the capacity of the nuclear network and the creation of new sources of income through improved Service exposure. The goal is to promote the digital transformation of Zimbabwe as part of the Smart Zimbabwe 2030 program.

A key aspect of the agreement is the introduction of the cloud native 5G Core, which enables new services such as ultra-low latency and network slicing. The focus is also on performance optimization of the network, which will lead to an improved customer experience. The use of the Ericsson Network Managers (ENM) and other tools should help to operate the network efficiently and smoothly.

The numbers speak for themselves

The digital landscape in Zimbabwe is developing. According to Technomag there was a sudden increase of 53.33 % at 5G-based stations in the first quarter of 2024 in the fourth quarter of 2024 184 rose. The total number of mobile base stations in Zimbabwe now exceeds the 11,900. The increase in 4G basis stations also shows that the demand for high-speed internet is growing in all areas. Econet remains the dominant provider on the market, followed by Netone and Telecel.