Internet and data traffic in Zimbabwe surged by 57.28% during the first quarter of 2026, driven by the rapid expansion of LTE and 5G networks, rising smartphone adoption and increased consumption of data-intensive digital applications.
According to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), accelerated telecommunications infrastructure deployment and the growing availability of smartphones are contributing significantly to the continued rise in mobile internet usage.
POTRAZ attributed the increase to “accelerated infrastructure deployment, particularly LTE and next-generation 5G footprints, increased smartphone adoption and increased use of embedded data-hungry applications.”
Zimbabwe’s mobile network operators continued to expand their next-generation infrastructure during the quarter. Econet, the country’s largest mobile operator, continued its 5G rollout, while NetOne also expanded its network footprint.
A total of 13 new 5G base stations were deployed during the quarter, bringing Zimbabwe’s national 5G base-station total to 379. As a result, approximately 18.94% of the country’s population, predominantly in urban areas, now has access to 5G coverage.
Operators also added 161 new LTE sites, further expanding access to high-speed mobile broadband.
The growth in network capacity is being accompanied by changing patterns of digital consumption. WhatsApp remained Zimbabwe’s most-used mobile internet platform, followed by YouTube, Facebook and X.
At the same time, usage of data-intensive services such as TikTok, Instagram and Netflix continues to increase. High-definition video streaming, content pre-loading and other bandwidth-heavy activities are contributing to rising overall data consumption.
POTRAZ said mobile internet and data services remained the largest source of revenue for mobile network operators, accounting for 46.34% of sector revenue during the quarter.
“Mobile Internet/data services continued as the biggest revenue contributor for the Mobile Network Operators, to the tune of 46.34% in the quarter under review,” POTRAZ said in its quarterly report.
The regulator attributed the strong performance to the growing use of WhatsApp and increasingly data-intensive video and streaming applications, including YouTube and TikTok.
Looking ahead, POTRAZ expects mobile operators to maintain the pace of infrastructure investment, particularly through the deployment of additional LTE and 5G base stations and the expansion of fibre-optic networks.
The continued growth in data traffic highlights the accelerating shift towards mobile-first digital consumption in Zimbabwe, while placing greater demands on operators to expand network capacity, coverage and resilience to keep pace with increasingly bandwidth-intensive services.
