Data services are in high demand in Zimbabwe and Telecel, in which the government now has a 60% stake, is revamping its network to enhance its data capacity and capability, a company official said on Wednesday.

VimpelCom has just disposed of its 60% stake in the Zimbabwean telco which has about 3 million subscribers. It also runs a mobile money service, Telecash that is competing against Econet Wireless' platform, EcoCash.

Telecel Zimbabwe has since introduced a combined option for social media, data and SMS accessibility, saying this was in response to growing demand for social media and other data services in Zimbabwe.

"(This) is a response to the increased popularity of bundles and data services," said Obert Mandimika, communications manager at Telecel Zimbabwe.

Telecel added that it was now "upgrading its data network in order to improve the quality of its coverage" to allow it to offer more data products and social media services.

"The data upgrade project is already commenced and will see enhancements being carried out in Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, Gweru, Chinhoyi, Karoi and Masvingo. The upgrades which have already been started in Harare are expected to allow the mobile company to introduce exciting new products along with an improved data experience," the company added.

Under the latest network upgrade, half of its sites in Harare have already been replaced "with high capacity ones" while it is expected that upgrade of the other sites in the other urban areas will be completed by the end of May.

"We have responded to the increased popularity and consumption of data services by our customers through a national network upgrade which will markedly improve the quality of data coverage," Mandimika said.