by STAFF WRITER
ZIMBABWE’S state-owned mobile operator is overhauling its consumer pitch, replacing a voice-only staple with a tiered suite of packages that bundle calls, texts and data for as little as 20 US cents.
The new “Freedom Bundles”, announced this week, evolve the long-running Khuluma 24/7 plan.
Instead of discarding the old product, NetOne has folded SMS and data allowances into a single structure—a concession to subscribers who increasingly expect a phone plan to cover more than just voice minutes.
The tariff ranges up to $12, yet the strategic lure is at the entry point.
The sliding scale acknowledges a diverged market where informal traders and rural commuters face vastly different daily liquidity constraints than salaried workers.
Alongside the tiered bundles, the operator has repackaged its Dollar-a-Day (DAD) product into a standalone daily proposition.
For a single greenback, users receive 85 on-net minutes, five minutes to other networks, 70 off-peak minutes (bringing the total to 160) and 15 text messages.
The flat, low-entry rate is aimed squarely at customers who budget telecoms spend by the sunrise rather than by the month—a common habit among small-scale vendors and lower-income households.
In its accompanying messaging, NetOne stretches the commercial rationale into a broader development narrative.
The firm explicitly anchors the launch to Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 and its second National Development Strategy, arguing that cheaper, comprehensive bundles lower barriers to education, health advice and financial services.
The strategy casts connectivity not merely as a consumer subscription, but as a platform for entrepreneurship and market participation.
To minimise friction at the point of purchase, the bundles are available across a medley of channels: the *171# USSD menu, the OneMoney mobile-money platform, electronic top-ups and a network of physical outlets and franchise agents.
The multiple access points reflect an operator mindful that convenience of purchase can weigh as heavily as price in driving subscriber uptake.
The revamp unfolds in a hyper-competitive domestic telecoms arena where prepaid subscriptions and multi-SIM ownership remain the norm.
With coverage now broadly standardised across the main players, the battleground has shifted decisively to everyday value. NetOne’s rhetorical embrace of “freedom”—to connect, transact and access information—is an attempt to imbue a functional pricing reset with a broader social mission, positioning affordable airtime as a tangible lever for individual opportunity in a cash-strapped economy.
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