Telecel Zimbabwe has responded to competition from rivals for better and enhanced data platforms, announcing Thursday that it will expand its data network with new 3G sites nationally.

Local mobile operators, NetOne and Econet Wireless continue to invest in data capacity, while fixed phone operator TelOne confirmed that it would also be lifting up its network for convergence.

Tendai Chirokote, CTO at Telecel Zimbabwe said the company's "mobile data upgrade exercise is primarily targeting rural and peri-urban areas where our data coverage has been lagging behind".

Under the current upgrade exercise, Telecel Zimbabwe is boosting the availability of 3G coverage in areas that previously had 2G and also increasing capacity and internet connection speeds, the company said.

This year Telecel has upgraded 203 data sites on 3G, mainly in urban areas, to boost speed and availability. "Another 60 sites will be upgraded by the end of the year. Telecel has also expanded its 3G network with 44 new 3G sites in its network upgrade project," said Chirokote.

By the end of 2016, Telecel Zimbabwe anticipates to have finalised 74 new 3G sites . This will bring the total number of its 3G sites in Zimbabwe to 337.

Telecel has also joined the race for smartphone offerings through its outlets in a bid to boost mobile internet user numbers and smartphone penetration. The company is offering entry level smartphones priced at US$64.

Smartphone penetration on the network has been increasing steadily. To support the uptake, Telecel is making available to the market smartphones competitively priced at $64, raising the competition for Econet Wireless which also offers smartphones through its outlets.