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Leading telecommunication sector player, TelOne, has added more feathers to its cap by opening the Bulawayo Data Centre and Hillside Client Experience Centre under its flagship.
Speaking during the official opening of the key digital infrastructure facilities on the sidelines of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo, Dr. Jenfan Muswere, the Minister of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services said he was pleased to celebrate the progress by Telone that came hard on the heels of two other project launches by the telecoms giant in Mazowe and Chitungwiza.
He applauded the TelOne effort towards ensuring that no one is left behind in this very fast-paced ICT space, in line with the government’s inclusivity in its development trajectory.
“Allow me ladies and gentlemen to congratulate TelOne for coming out to invest in the data center facility and refreshing your flagship outlet here in Bulawayo. I have taken note of the fact that the Bulawayo Data Centre which we have just opened in Bulawayo CBD is the only Data Centre in the Southern region of Zimbabwe. It is therefore much pleasing that this key development has been deployed by our own TelOne. The launch of this Data Centre aligns with His Excellency’s recent announcements that the days of “Bambazonke” where Harare has been the center of everything in the country are over,” Dr. Muswere said.
He said the growth of the economy and its ability to create new business models that didn’t exist 20 years ago relies on data and data storage capacity. Thus the Government is keen to take advantage of digitization and reap its rewards.
The rise of the ‘Internet of things creates huge volumes of data that need to be processed and stored. According to research, the digital world now already holds twice as much data as there are litres of water in oceans, and in the next 5 years, more data will be generated than in the previous 5,000 years.
Minister Muswere said Africa alone needs up to 1000 MW and 700 facilities to meet the demand for data centers.
“I am therefore pleased that Zimbabwe is playing its part through such projects as the Bulawayo Data Centre and the other similar facilities in Harare and Bulawayo. From Government, we are certainly keen on seeing an even quicker increase in this kind of infrastructure in our country – it is as vital as roads, airports, and other infrastructure in the digital economy. Our government wants to create a conducive environment to enhance our ease of doing business and I congratulate TelOne for this effort, which is an addition to our broader national strategy of modernizing the country’s ICT infrastructure and will aid towards the attainment of an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
“Coming to this facility, the Hillside Client Experience Centre, I’m sure we can all see the fresher look, and indeed, I would like to commend TelOne for the various strides that you are making in the client service front. We believe in you and have no doubt that you will complement this world-class client experience center with great service to your clients. As a sector, we seem to be lagging behind in terms of client experience and I am sure you have identified this as an opportunity to leverage your competitiveness,” Minister Muswere added.
As the shareholder, the government has high expectations for TelOne to fix the client experience issues, especially around the quality of service and responsiveness.
The government also expects TelOne to secure a 25% revenue market share, develop 10 new data-centric products and services, and reduce overhead expenses and infrastructure expansion and sharing.
Minister Muswere such projects modernise the country and are key in the attainment of the Government of Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 as well as the National Development Strategy (NDS1) which aims to modernise the economy through the use of ICT and digital technology.