BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY MEDIA FOR AFRICA

Aquiva launches Zim VoIP service

Aquiva launches Zim VoIP service
By Tawanda Karombo, Journalist
23 Apr 2012

Zimbabwean internet services company, Aquiva Wireless, has kicked off its voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephony services in the country.

Aquiva is an internet services company offering WiMAX and broadband internet services in areas such as Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, Kwekwe and Gweru.

And Zimbabweans are now able to use the company’s VoIP services make phone calls on their laptops, PCs or WiFi-enabled mobile devices.

Aquiva representatives last month said plans were in place to establish agreements with all of the country's mobile phone operators - Econet, Telecel and Net*One - to roll out its VoIP services.

But the company has only managed to have an inter-connection deal with Econet, while agreements with Telecel, Net*One and state run fixed phone operator Tel*One are yet to be secured.

"What we have observed so far is that the one mobile operator that all new VoIP providers manage to secure an interconnection with is Econet Wireless,” said a report on TechZim blog.

"Maybe it’s because they focus on interconnecting with Econet so they can access the 70% mobile market share Econet commands," the report added.

The Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has authorised Aquiva's VoIP services, with tariffs having been set at $0.06 per minute for intra calls and $0.12 per minute for calls to other network operators.

Mobile tariffs across networks are charged on average at about 24c a minute in Zimbabwe.

Information from the GlobalComms Database shows that Aquiva Wireless, which is just one of about four companies effectively offering VOIP services, operates under a ‘Class A’ IAP licence which allows for VoIP services.

Other companies offering internet voice call services in Zimbabwe are Econet and Telecontract.

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