Local mobile operator Econet Wireless has announced a partnership that is expected to allow subscribers using roaming services to make cheaper calls while introducing the option to send money via EcoCash while outside the country.
Through a licensing agreement with One Horizon Group – an Irish technology firm that provides mobile VoIP solutions for network operators – Econet will use some of the firm’s proprietary technology which allows its subscribers on roam to make high-quality phone calls back to Zimbabwe for approximately the same amount as a local call.
Roaming charges for Econet calls made to Zimbabwe currently range from 63 cents a minute (calls from Botswana on a prepaid line) to as much as $9.91 from the UAE. In popular destinations like the United Kingdom, it costs up to $5.46 to call Zimbabwe.
Thanks to a full integration of One Horizon’s tech with EcoCash, roaming Econet subscribers will also be able to “Ecocash”money to Zimbabwean EcoCash wallets.
This is One Horizon Group’s first crack at the African market (it’s previously launched in the Philippines) and according to the statement released to announce this agreement the technology will be white labelled.
This will likely mean an application packaged as an Econet service while essentially running One Horizon tech.