Zimbabwean state controlled telecom operator, NetOne, is expanding its network outreach in the country in a bid to win market share from rival operators.

NetOne, with around 2.4 million network users, has predicted a decline in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) numbers from the $3.76 registered last year to $3.06 this year as competition from cheaper communication alternatives intensifies.

NetOne is creeping up to overtake Telecel. NetOne grew its subscriber base by 1% from 2,333,739 to 2,356,815, according to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) last month. Telecel has 2,459,369 subscribers while Econet has just over 9 million subscribers, according to POTRAZ.

It is against this backdrop -- and that of market leader Econet continuing to gain more subscribers -- that NetOne is expanding its network outreach through building base stations in previously uncovered remote areas.

One such area that NetOne has now covered under its network expansion programme is Binga, a remote district on the border with Zambia and nearly 900 kilometers from the capital, Harare.

The company has also continued with its programme to install base stations in trees, electricity towers, in mountains and other high areas as a way of reducing base station tower building costs.

"NetOne has gone as high as Tundazi mountain to install a new base station providing seamless network coverage to the people of Binga and surrounding areas. This base station is at the heart of Chizarira Game Reserve and connects ... to the world," the state-run telco said on Thursday.

NetOne says now has about 700 base stations across the country.