Do you wish to learn more about Vodacom roaming in Zimbabwe? What’s the process of activation and what’s the cheapest network to roam on in the country? By some accounts, there are up to 3 million Zimbabweans living and working in South Africa. Most of these people use Vodacom SIM cards. And a lot of them occasionally go home to Zimbabwe, either on holiday or for some other reason. If you are one of the Zimbabweans living in South Africa, you may be wondering about roaming when you visit Zimbabwe.
How get Vodacom roaming in Zimbabwe
This process is the same for any country. It’s something that we have previously covered. Depending on whether you are a contract or a prepaid customer, the steps will be slightly different. Learn how to activate Vodacom roaming here.
Vodacom Roaming Rates for Zimbabwe
Roaming rates are usually not the same, even for the same country. In Zimbabwe, there are three mobile networks. They are Econet, Telecel and NetOne.
The amount that you pay when you call, SMS, receive calls and use data will be different from one network to the next. That’s something to keep in mind.
It’s important to understand which network offers the best rates. That way, you won’t be charged an arm and a leg when you visit Zimbabwe. The table below shows current Vodacom roaming rates for Zimbabwe;
| Country | Operator | Local calls | International calls | Receive call | Data | Send SMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zimbabwe | Econet | R6/min | R16.50/min | R6/min | R5/MB | R2.75/SMS |
| | NetOne | R6/min | R6/min | R6/min | N/A | R2.75/SMS |
| | Telecel | R6/min | R6/min | R6/min | R5/min | R2.75/SMS |
As you can see in the above table, Vodacom roaming rates for Zimbabwe vary from one operating to the next. Please note that these values were prevailing at the time of writing this article. They are liable to change at any moment. For current rates, go to this page on the Vodacom website.
The most expensive operator in Zimbabwe is Econet. They are most expensive when it comes to international calls. When you make an international call while roaming in Zimbabwe on Econet, you get charged R16.50/min. By comparison, making international calls on NetOne and on Telecel will cost your R6 per minute.
In terms of local calls, that is, calls that you make within Zimbabwe using your Vodacom phone, you are charged R6 per minute on all networks. The same applies for receiving calls. You are charged R6 per minute when someone calls you on your Vodacom line while you are on roaming in Zimbabwe.
In terms of data, you get charge R5 per megabyte on Econet and Telecel. NetOne does not allow data roaming for Vodacom. When it comes to sending SMSes, you are charged R2.75 per SMS when roaming in Zimbabwe.
Does it make sense to activate Vodacom roaming in Zimbabwe?
Zimbabweans living in South Africa have an inordinate link to their home country. Many have been here for decades, yet home is still in Zimbabwe. Each Christmas, they flock back home to be with family and friends. They also visit whenever somebody close to them dies back home.
When visiting, most prefer to be on roaming. That’s fine. But one thing to note is that roaming can be very expensive, as you have already seen from out table.
You don’t just get charged when making calls. You also get charged when receiving calls. So, does it make sense to activate Vodacom roaming while in Zimbabwe?
That depends on how long you are going to be visiting. Most Zimbabweans go back home for a few days during the holidays. You may go there just for Christmas. In that case, roaming will be fine.
However, if you are going to be staying for longer, you may have to get a local SIM. Most Zimbabweans in South Africa actually retain Zimbabwean SIM cards. If you have one, it may make more sense to use that when in Zimbabwe.
Summary
This post was dedicated to showing you how you can make use of Vodacom roaming for Zimbabwe. We noted that there are thousands, possibly millions of Zimbabweans in South Africa.
Many of them are on Vodacom. They go back home every now and again and most will be looking to put their phones on roaming.
If you have further questions, you can ask them on our Forum. You can also leave a comment below.