Zimbabwean telecommunications companies want to scrap contributions to a fund aimed at helping to roll-out mobile networks across the country.

Mobile companies contribute 2% of their revenues each year to the Universal Services Fund, which is supposed to be used to developing telecommunications infrastructure particularly in remote and rural parts of the country.

The USF is administered by the state-run telecommunications sector regulator, the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz).

And mobile operators argue that contributing to this fund is no-longer necessary, especially at a time when they say they are expanding their network coverage.

“They made a representation about this to parliament last week and the matter is being determined by the regulator, the ministry and the portfolio committee on the sector,” said a source privy to developments around the issue.

Econet chief executive officer, Douglas Mboweni told the parliamentary portfolio committee on media, information and communication that mobile companies were “of the view that the USF is probably no longer as relevant as it was in the past because we are already doing the work that it was supposed to do".

Mboweni said Econet had contributed about $30 million to the fund since 2009.

He proposed that the contributions be used by the operators themselves for network expansion projects in underserved areas.

Telecel Zimbabwe chief executive Francis Mawindi said his company expects to add 284 base stations by the end of the year to give a national coverage of about 85%. He said Telecel expected to increase its 3G coverage to about 32% by the end of the year.

No official comment could immediately be obtained from Potraz executives, although experts in the sector said they did not think the regulator will cave into the demands by the mobile operators.

They also said the USF could be a source of revenue for some of Potraz’s operations.

“There has been no meaningful investments from the (fund) save for the 10 sites that are currently under construction,” Mboweni said of the USF.

Econet has 6.4 million subscribers while Telecel has 2 million. The other operator, the state run NetOne has 1.6 million subscribers. This brings the total number of people with access to a mobile phone in Zimbabwe to about 10 million in a country with a population estimated at 13 million.