STATE-OWNED telecommunications firm PowerTel Communications Private Limited has unveiled plans to extend its fibre-optic network across rural Zimbabwe, leveraging power line installations by its parent company, Zesa Holdings.
As a wholly-owned Zesa subsidiary, PowerTel is taking advantage of infrastructure synergies by laying fibre cables alongside electricity lines in a bid to fast-track internet connectivity in underserved regions.
The company operates a licensed optic fibre backbone network under the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe.
The rural fibre expansion follows PowerTel’s recent partnership with Paratus Zimbabwe, a subsidiary of the Namibia-based pan-African telecoms group Paratus.
The collaboration will see the rollout of a new high-capacity national fibre network.
“As we electrify rural Zimbabwe, we are also ‘datafying’ it. You cannot separate the two,” Powertel managing director Willard Nyagwande told Zimbabwe Independent in an interview.
“The fibre runs from Harare to Plumtree, passing through places such as Rusape, Nyabadza, Kriste Mambo, Nyanga, and Kazungula. We are electrifying and laying internet cables at the same time.”
The integrated rollout is already underway in remote districts such as Binga, Nyamaropa, and Mutoko, areas long neglected by private telecom operators due to high setup costs and low return on investment.
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Nyagwande said PowerTel’s approach challenges the perception that state-owned enterprises are inefficient and slow. He credited the company’s momentum to the Mutapa Investment Fund, which took over oversight of commercial state entities, including PowerTel, in 2023.
“We report to the board, to the executive chairman, and to Mutapa. But decision-making is quick. If your business plan is solid, approvals move fast,” Nyagwande said.
He cited the Paratus deal as an example, noting it was approved within two weeks, unthinkable under the previous bureaucratic system.
At the heart of PowerTel’s operations is an internal strategy dubbed “TESTED” — an acronym for teamwork, efficiency, speed, technology, execution, and decision-making. Nyagwande said this framework was critical for execution in a capital-intensive, high-stakes sector such as telecommunications.
“You have to be organised. Planning is key. That is what drives execution,” he said.
With Zimbabwe’s telecom sector hampered by foreign currency shortages and high equipment import costs, infrastructure sharing has emerged as a key solution.
PowerTel’s model, piggybacking on Zesa’s nationwide footprint while collaborating with private partners, is aimed at reducing costs and eliminating duplication.
“This is infrastructure-sharing that benefits the government and the people of Zimbabwe. It is not about competing; it is about connecting,” Nyagwande said.
He said coupling rural electrification with broadband rollout would drive universal access to both power and data, promoting digital inclusion across the country.
“In this era, you cannot afford inefficiency. We have shown that a state-owned company can move with speed,” Nyagwande added.
Potraz’s latest report for the first quarter of 2025 shows only 81 287 active fibre connections nationwide, despite an internet penetration rate of 76,19%, highlighting the gap in last-mile connectivity. The Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (Zida) recently ranked the ICT sector as the country’s top investment portfolio.
According to Zida’s 2025 Projects report, PowerTel’s Fibre Internet Project is projected to generate US$231 million in revenues, contributing to the ICT sector’s anticipated US$3,85 billion earnings once ongoing projects are completed.
