Econet expansion to continue

arrying capacity from the current 800,000 to 1.2 million by February 2008.
He said the Econet Wireless board of directors had directed that there should be no suspension of the work to increase capacity, even though the network is experiencing severe congestion due to low tariffs. In addition, power cuts have also affected service although the company has been installing diesel-powered generators to provide back-up power whenever there is no electricity.
“Our board’s view is that we maintain a long-term approach to Zimbabwe despite the current problems of low tariffs which are causing congestion and power cuts,” said Mboweni.
Econet Wireless early this year signed two contracts with Ericsson and a Chinese company ZTE to supply equipment for the expansion project, with Ericsson expanding the core network, which is made up of the switching systems, whilst ZTE is supplying radio base stations for the southern part of the country. – CAJ News.