Zimbabwe’s public fixed telecommunications company, TelOne believes so, and it has embarked on a $2 million project, to expand its asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) in the southern African country, to prove so.

“Data is the future and every Zimbabwean must have access to affordable, fast and reliable Internet, hence the efforts by TelOne to expand its ADSL coverage,” Rosemary Sande, TelOne’s public relations officer, told the local newspaper Southern Eye.

ADSL is a communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voice-band modem can provide.

Sande added that internet was now a global phenomenal and a basic right as it has revolutionized the way people socialized, do business and acquire education. “The talk is now on internet developments around e-commerce, e–learning, e-tourism and e–health; the list is endless.”

Recently TelOne also reduced its ADSL prices and adjusted data packages to offer a more appealing suite of internet services.

TelOne is traditionally known for fixed-line telephone service provision but has in recent years has been facing viability challenges on the backdrop of a mobile technology boom. It owns a wide range of telecommunication equipment, varying from various exchanges located in strategic areas, optical fibre networks, radio network systems and a wide range of high-tech networks across Zimbabwe.

By George Mpofu