THE Southern Africa regional chief executive officer of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Wellington Makamure has asserted that Zimbabwe’s internet speed surpasses that of several developed countries, including the United Kingdom.
Makamure addressed the prevailing negative perception of Zimbabwe’s internet coverage, connectivity, and speeds, arguing that this misconception deters potential investors. “When it comes to fibre, we are the pacesetters. We beat London. Firstly, I would like you to do the internet speed tests in Zimbabwe and then do the same when you go to the developed world and compare,” Makamure said, as reported by Business Times.
He emphasized the importance of communicating Zimbabwe’s technological advancements to counteract negative external perceptions that could harm investment prospects. “When we don’t talk about it, the message from outside is negative and it affects our country and investments. It’s a sad reality. If you compare our capacity and capability with the rest of Africa and Europe in some instances you will be surprised.”
Makamure recounted a personal experience from his recent trip to London, where he faced frequent signal drops while traveling from London to Birmingham. “The way we cry when the networks drop here is just too much. This happens to the rest of the world as signals dropped on all five networks in England because I was on roaming. I had the privilege to use all of them. I said I will communicate when I get access to the internet.”
Lorreta Songola, regional chief commercial officer for Liquid Intelligent Technologies in Central Africa, also commented on the company’s resilience in the face of new competition, such as the entry of Starlink into Zimbabwe. Speaking to journalists, Songola stated, “After all, competition is healthy, as this would be an opportunity for Zimbabweans to enjoy competitive services and pricing from all the players in the sector. We already operate alongside Starlink in our other regional markets like Zambia, and we are all operating well.”
Liquid Intelligent Technologies boasts over 80% of the market share in network capacity, making it Zimbabwe’s largest internet access provider. The company is present in more than 25 countries across Africa and is the largest independent network provider in the region and other emerging markets. Liquid’s fibre broadband network extends over 110,000 km, with more than 26,000 km of this fibre network located in Zimbabwe.
