In recent days, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has faced somewhat of a backlash among a section of its SmartBiz customers, for enforcing a Fair Usage Policy (FUP) on its “unlimited” data packages. For some customers, the idea that a data service sold as “unlimited” could come with usage terms and conditions, felt like a breach of promise. Yet, beyond the emotional customer reaction, lies a more nuanced truth that deserves clarity and proper interrogation. So, what exactly is a Fair Usage Policy? In very simple terms, a Fair Usage Policy is a ‘reasonable use’ policy set by service providers to ensure that all users can enjoy equitable access to resources and services. In the global telecoms industry, it allows mobile and data network operators to offer competitive data packages – often labelled as "unlimited" – while guarding against misuse or excessive consumption by a small group of users. Fair Use Policies therefore ensure that resources like bandwidth and network performance are equitably shared among all users. It is therefore important to note that “unlimited” does not actually mean infinite or inexhaustible. No mobile network, especially in data-constrained environments like Zimbabwe – where mobile networks import the bandwidth using precious foreign currency resources – can support unregulated, unmetered consumption by all users, without compromising quality of service. In the case of the SmartBiz outcry, the reality is that some users have been downloading massive volumes of data – sometimes for personal server hosting, torrenting (which involves distributing large data files across multiple users), or streaming to multiple third-party devices – while others struggle to access the basic service for business use. This is why – for a mobile network such as Econet – the recent implementation or enforcement of the Fair Usage Policy for SmartBiz became a necessity, not a luxury – something intended to just annoy customers. When the company introduced SmartBiz, it was designed as a tailored solution for small businesses, schools, churches, and MSMEs. Its intention was clear: to drive business productivity and digital inclusion – not to subsidize excessive, often non-business-related traffic from a few heavy users. Even the name ‘SmartBiz’ implies a smart way of doing business – not streaming Netflix movies, or watching online reality shows the whole day! But unfortunately, according to some reports, some SmartBiz users are said to have taken “unlimited” as a licence to turn their routers into ‘neighbourhood hotspots’ or makeshift cybercafés, essentially turning a business-focused solution, into a personal ISP. Left unchecked, and with swelling subscription numbers, such usage degrades the usage experience for others – leading to slower speeds, dropped connections and network congestion. That outcome hurts everyone, especially the core target market of SmartBiz, who genuinely need reliable, high-speed internet to run their business operations and serve their customers. Econet’s move to manage the excessive usage should therefore be seen as a pro-consumer intervention, not a punishment. It protects the broader ecosystem of data users from a ‘tragedy of the commons’ scenario, where a few abuse what was meant to be shared, to the detriment of the many. What is global best practice? Across the world, telecoms giants such as AT&T, Verizon and Vodafone, along with African players such as MTN, Safaricom and Vodacom apply FUP to manage their network resources. On all their commercial mobile data or fixed broadband product offers – or any service that promises the customer ‘unlimited usage’, there is always the caveat, on their terms and condition of use, that their Fair Usage Policy applies. Econet’s SmartBiz customer forms also clearly stated in the terms and conditions of the product use, that it must be within with FUP, aligning themselves with international best practice. However, the company could have probably been more proactive in their communication of the strict enforcement of the policy to SmartBiz users, in the interests of transparency – although it reserved the right to take the action – to protect the interests of the majority of the product users. And across the industry, the SmartBiz situation should serve as a reminder, that all technology service providers need to constantly educate their customers on their product terms and conditions, so that there is no surprise on the part of the customer, and – most importantly – so that the customer understands what they are signing up for right from the onset. That is Econet’s homework now and going forward: to clearly make its customers understand that while the company’s Fair Usage Policy may be inconvenient for a few, it is in fact a vital necessity for the many. Otherwise, the company’s vision of a digitally connected Zimbabwe that leaves no one behind, and the country’s aspiration for digital inclusion, will both remain pipe dreams.
