Over-the-top technologies such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter are posing a threat to telecom firms like Zimbabwe’s NetOne.

This is the view of NetOne managing director Reward Kangai, who works for Zimbabwe’s number three mobile network.

NetOne has embarked on an infrastructure upgrade project worth over $200 million with China’s Huawei, in a bid to boost its network and win over customers.

The state-owned mobile operator has struggled to compete against bigger rivals Telecel and Econet in Zimbabwe.

However, Kangai has spoken about how over-the-top services, like instant messaging, is also proving to be a headache for telecom operators.

“The key issue, the real challenge is technological developments. We are not just looking at local competitors but at competitors globally in the form of over the top services like WhatsApp.

"They don’t have an infrastructure of their own but ride on your infrastructure,” said Kangai.

According to local regulator statistics, NetOne has under 2.5 million subscribers, just behind Telecel. Meanwhile, Econet is Zimbabwe’s largest mobile operator with over 8 million connections.