Zimbabwe's Econet Wireless has had to suspend all contract subscriptions after the company had problems with its billing platform. The company has migrated its entire subscription base to a PrePay service pending a repair to the platform.
"Our current billing platform has been in place since 1998, and has come to the end of its practical life, and therefore requires extensive and urgent software upgrade. This exercise has foreign currency implications, and its full implementation could be delayed due to the prevailing economic environment," said Econet.
The company has also decided to stop accepting cheques as payment and is now demanding cash - as a move to try and deal with the ongoing rampant inflation in the country.
The company has been recently adding 3G capability to its network - although it had to also boost the number of diesel powered base stations due to the country's power supply issues.
Speaking on the 10th anniversary of the company in July, Econet Wireless founder Strive Masiyiwa had said that his only regret was that the foreign currency shortages and other problems in the country like power had made it difficult for the company to provide the quality of service the customers deserve.
Econet Wireless is the largest operator in the country by subscriber numbers. According to estimates from the Mobile World, the operator ended the first half of this year with around 650,000 customers and a market share of 52%. The country has a population penetration level of just over 10%.
Posted to the site on 10th November 2008
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