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I have been using Skype for sometime now to make calls to Zimbabwe. I like skype for their FREE PC to PC calls. However when I tried skype for PC to Mobile calls to Zimbabwe I found them very expensive at £0.215 per minute.

Again not many people use Skype in Zimbabwe so I still have to buy phone cards. At Clement Nyirenda’s blog, he talked about two cheaper alternative PC-to-Phone VoIP services that are cheaper than Skype, ActionVoip and Comfi.


Comfi give you a cheaper alternative when you want to save money on your phone calls to Zimbabwe. I use their top-up phone cards and I find them to be better than other phone cards I used to buy in the shops here in London.

If you have used some of these phone cards you know how they don’t always give you the minutes they say on the card.

With Comfi Phone Cards calls to Zimbabwe costs as little as £0.034 per minute from London and PC-to-Phone call to Zimbabwe costs as little as £0.04 per minute.

Have you also been finding expensive making calls to Zimbabwe? Don’t let the high phone call charges stop you from talking to your loved ones back home.

Try Comfi’s Cheap Phone Calls Rates Here.

I’m going to try Comfi’s PC-to-Phone calls, and will definitely share my experiences with you all in my next post.

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe’s largest mobile phone provider has launched the General Packet Radio System (GPRS) in Zimbabwe. The service will provide Internet access using one of the most advanced technologies in the world, the 3G technology. Zimbabwe’s long wait to enter the age of mobile Internet access is finally over.

In a statement, Econet said,

“Econet subscribers will now have access to the Internet on their mobile phones, one of a range of services 3G technology will make possible in the near future.

“General Packet Radio System or GPRS will enable customers with compatible handsets to send and receive emails on the move. GPRS can also be used by banks and shops to support payment devices for credit cards.

“While the roll-out of GPRS is itself very exciting, the real excitement will be on the launch of a range of new generation services under 3G. The excitement is not in the technology itself, but in what it offers,” said Econet Wireless Chief Executive Officer, Douglas Mboweni.

“This is probably the most advanced cellular technology in the world. Even in the most developed countries, 3G has still not been fully deployed around the world and Zimbabwe joins one of only five countries that have a fully operational system. The capability of 3G is truly spectacular, and it will completely alter the way people use their phones. A 3G smart phone can make voice calls and high quality video transmissions,” Mboweni said.

Econet continues to lead the way in bringing mobile phone technology to Zimbabwe, the company that Zanu Pf politicians did not want to operate. Against all odds and thanks to the efforts of Joshua Nkomo….Strive Masiyiwa with his business vision is bringing all this technology to Zimbabwe. Even the politicians who were against him will today benefit from Econet Wireless’s inventiveness.

“Mr Chingoma’s Helicopter is now finished and ready to fly”….that’s the message from Mr Chingoma. Has Mr Chingoma taken his engineering dreams a bit too far? Surely how can he be allowed to fly this thing….that is if he is still going to try. This is a disaster awaiting to happen, and the earlier Mr Chingoma wakes up from this dream the better.

He did have a successful water pump business before he decided to take his engineering skills a bit further. But he is not the first, because in the 90′s I remember there was another helicopter made by a war veteran in Bulawayo…..whatever happened to him and his engineering masterpiece we don’t know. Maybe it’s in a museum somewhere in the city of kings.

What else can I say about this?

Remember the story of ‘the spirit medium who discovered diesel coming out of a rock’ in Chinhoyi. Well the government ended up embarrassing themselves after declaring an end to Zimbabwe’s fuel problems, which later turned out to be a lie.
Are we going to hear of any government minister falling over each other to be the first to fly in Mr Chingoma’s engineering masterpiece?

Zimbabwe is carrying out a fibre optic installation project that is aimed at improving the Internet and mobile services in the country. The country aims to link easily with other African countries.

Media reports suggested the fibre optic project would boost Zimbabwe’s chances of regaining its position as the second fastest growing Information and Communication Technology power-house in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Richard Mbaiwa, Chief Officer for Zimbabwe Investment Agency, said in an itnewsafrica report that the project would help link with other developing nations such as Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. The project is set to link Harare and the eastern border city of Mutare.

Zimbabwe’s Information and Publicity Minister, Webster Shamu told parliament that US$10 million is needed to repair equipment at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings which is now obsolete and in dire need of revamp.

“The transmitters have been in operation for about 34 years instead of eight years which has significantly affected transmission. The equipment needs to be revitalised due to old age, almost all the transmitters in the country have outlived their life span and need to be revamped,” he said.

“About US$4 million is required to revive the radio network, while US$5 million is required for our television networks.”

Minister Shamu said he was hopeful the equipment will be revamped before the end of the year. We do hope the government will get the money needed, and that there will be no more misuse of funds.

Through corruption and mismanagement of public funds the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings is in these troubles today, so as many other public corporations in the country. A few years ago money was wasted, relocating to different parts of the country and re-branding radio stations. The money could have been used to buy new equipment.

ZBC also lost a lot of revenue from advertisers when it chose to be a propaganda station, focusing mainly on FREE political broadcasts. (Do you still remember the days of Tava neminda tirambe takashinga)

We hope now they have turned a new leaf and there will be no going back to those corrupt old days. ZBC should be working to bring top quality entertainment to it’s licence paying viewers.

Feel free to share your views by posting your comments.

Internet search and advertising giants, Google has unveiled an SMS service that would help provide information via SMS texts to mobile phone users in Africa. Google SMS will be available first in Uganda and will provide information via SMS on a number of topics including health and agriculture tips, news, local weather and sports.

“At Google we seek to serve a broad base of people — not only those who can afford to access the Internet from the convenience of their workplace or with a computer at home,” the company said in a blog post.

“It’s important to reach users wherever they are, with the information they need, in areas with the greatest information poverty,” Google said.

Google noted that Africa has the world’s highest mobile phone growth rate and that mobile use on the continent is six times higher than Internet penetration.

“Most mobile devices in Africa only have voice and SMS capabilities, and so we are focusing our technological efforts in that continent on SMS,” it said.

My Internet is one thing I can not live without. At home and on the mobile and at work, I have to get on the Internet. Now the UK government plans to have broadband on the Underground, that will add a bit of life on the Tube.

Tube passengers could also make mobile phone calls while underground under government plans for a digital revolution. Under the plans, the whole of the railway network will have Internet access by 2012. Exciting times ahead for London travellers who like to be connected. What do you think about Internet and mobile phones on the Tube?

In it’s plans to extend internet access across the country, the UK government is going to charge a £6 a year ‘broadband tax’ on every household and businesses. The cost of TV licence will also go up, welcome to Digital Britain a nation of over taxed citizens.

‘The cable revolution happened without a cable tax, the satelite revolution also happened without a satelite tax’ Jeremy Hunt from the Tories said. But these plans come from politicians who claim every peny they spend from us the tax payers. We pay our hard earned cash for MPs to watch adult Dvds and drink expensive wines and all they think of is more tax!! Why should we pay for this broadband tax??