HARARE - Econet Wireless, the country’s largest telecoms company, says its massive investment into building a broadband network has given it capacity to speed up the rollout of new value-added products on the market.

George Barbaressos, Econet’s commercial director, said voice over internet protocol (VoIP) was one of the products that had been made possible under its broadband services.

VoIP allows users to make phone calls over the Internet, instead of the regular fixed telephone line, and is an increasingly popular service, especially for corporates.

“You are aware that Econet has been investing quite significantly in building an extensive fibre network. That puts us in a good space, as we can deploy more services that add value for our customers, and VoIP is just one of them,” he said.

Barbaressos said the service was cheaper than traditional fixed line allowing businesses and homes to cut their communication bills.

“There will be major advantages for both small and large businesses, and they can set up easily with VoIP equipment, while only an Internet connection is required. The set-up is easy, and this makes for greater convenience,” he added.

Barbaressos said many businesses and households were migrating to VoIP and other new means of communication offered by telecoms companies due to the evolution of communication — from old methods such as drumming to the new age modes via social media.

The new trend in telecoms, he said, was the offering of converged solutions to the market.

“At Econet, our philosophy has always been about offering an integrated package, or total telecommunications solutions to the customer.”

In its interim results to August 2011, Econet reported attributable earnings of $74,3 million, up 15 percent year on year attributed to a 25 percent year on year growth in subscriber to $5,6 million.

The mobile operator maintained its dominance on the sector, commanding a market share of 70 percent.

Voice contributed 75,9 percent to total revenue, up from 62,9 percent the prior period while data and SMS contributed 13 percent.

According to its figures, $1,5 million subscribed to its  broadband service and 590 000 were on eTXT.