NetOne pays renewal fee deposit

Zimbabwean state-owned mobile operator NetOne says it has made a down-payment of USD4 million towards the USD137.5 million cost of renewing its operating licence, which was originally due in August 2013. A report from Techzim says the firm has negotiated with the government to repay the remainder in instalments over a ten-year period. The country’s other state-backed wireless operator Telecel has also negotiated to make staggered payments. The sole privately-owned cellco, market leader Econet Wireless, paid its own renewal fee in full back in 2013 and says the concessions made to the two government-backed firms are examples of the uneven playing field created by telecoms regulator POTRAZ.