Promotions and tariff reductions implemented by Zimbabwean mobile operators have to be approved and should not be anticompetitive and mislead subscribers, the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) said on Wednesday afternoon.

The statement by Potraz comes in the wake of the regulator having ordered Econet on Monday to reverse its 60% tariff reduction for cross network calls, a move Econet said it would seek to challenge.

Econet’s 60% tariff reduction had brought down charges for calls to other networks from 25 cents to 10 cents per minute. Meanwhile, the country’s two other mobile operators – Telecel Zimbabwe and state run NetOne – are offering bonus talk time of no less than 100% the value of top-ups.

Econet is Zimbabwe’s largest mobile operator with eight million subscribers.

“Since promotions ordinarily involve temporary reduction of tariffs, (Potraz) is mandated by section 100 of the Postal and Telecommunications Act to approve new tariffs or changes to existing tariffs,” Potraz said in a statement.

It said it was “not opposed to operators offering promotions” although it demanded that “all promotions … be approved”.

“Where approval has been granted the operator must comply with the conditions set by the authority and any deviation from the approved proposal should not be implemented without the approval of the authority.”

It further said that when an operator’s promotion “deviates from an approved promotion or tariff, it is Potraz’s regulatory duty to stop the operator from doing so and to penalise the operator for breaching regulatory requirements.”

Econet on Tuesday expressed disappointment over the Potraz move to force it to back down on its 60% tariff reduction.

It said it would “take the steps necessary to protect the interests of its customers and ensure competitiveness is protected in the market”.

Potraz said in its statement that mobile operators in Zimbabwe were free to apply to the watchdog for permanent tariff reductions.

However, Potraz said that such reductions have to be supported by changes in the respective telco’s costing structure.

Competition is heating up in Zimbabwe’s telco sector, as Econet on Wednesday also launched LTE internet accessibility for Victoria Falls, Harare and Bulawayo as well as for the country’s airports.