Creditors stall TelOne digitalisation

Published: 17 April 2014

The country's fixed telecommunications operator, TelOne, says it is failing to complete the digitalisation of its exchange centre in Gweru due to failure by its customers to settle debts. TelOne is owed about $200 million by both domestic and commercial customers.

The company seeks to migrate from analogue to digital convergence by 2015 as stipulated by the International Telecommunications Union. The company's sales and marketing director, Joseph Machiva, told stakeholders during a breakfast meeting in Gweru recently that unpaid debts by customers had resulted in the slow implementation of its internet broadband rollout as well as the digitalisation of its telephone exchange centre.

"Our cash flow as a business is primarily post paying therefore people consume the services and pay later. It is this state of affairs which has resulted in our customers owing us about $200 million. We are still negotiating with our creditors to come and settle their bills. We have proposed payment plans where our customers can settle their bills in instalments," he said.

"The debt which we are owed has crippled our own growth. Believe me, we want to digitalise the entire network . . . We must raise the money to digitalise those exchanges and this is a process and I think over the last year, we made significant inroads towards that goal both from a digitalisation point of view and fibre network rollout. We are making good progress, its slow but its progress nonetheless," he said.

Appearing before a parliamentary portfolio committee on communication technology in 2012, the then TelOne chairman, Amos Mushaninga said the company required at least $300 million to digitalise its operations.
- fingaz