Roaming with Econet: What You Need to Know

Zimbabwe is a beautiful country with many natural landmarks. Sometimes, you just want to visit one of the neighboring countries like Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana, or South African. Should you bring your Econet phone with you while traveling? Is roaming with Econet worth it? We will find out today.

Can I roam with Econet?

Roaming is available to all Econet subscribers – both Postpaid and Prepaid customers. With the international roaming service, you can keep in touch with your friends and family while traveling around the world. Econet Postpaid customers can roam in 90 destinations, while Prepaid customers can roam in 35 destinations.

No idea how roaming works? I made this comprehensive guide about what roaming is and how it works. It is worth the read – promised!

What do I need to know about roaming with Econet?

Econet customers can roam in various destinations with Econet's roaming partners. Roaming tariffs vary per destination and can even vary per roaming partner. Your phone should automatically pick up a signal of any network Econet has roaming agreements with. If not, then you can select a network manually.

Econet has, as of now, no roaming packages, meaning that all prices are Pay Per Use.

Prepaid customers are not required to pay a deposit if they wish to roam. However, Postpaid subscribers are expected to pay a roaming deposit.

Postpaid customers have to pay a connection deposit of $6 (individual) or $10 (corporate) per intended roaming day (US Dollars – USD). These deposit rates apply for short-term stays abroad.

Those who want to have a permanent roaming service (being able to roam without an end-date) are required to pay a deposit of $200 (individual) or $300 (corporate). Although this service is referred to as permanent roaming, the service will expire after 1 year from the date the customer paid the deposit. After the year, you will have to re-apply for roaming if you still need it.

How do I activate roaming on my Econet device?

Before one can roam with Econet, you have to follow specific steps depending on the type of customer you are (Prepaid or Postpaid).

Activating roaming as an Econet Prepaid customer

Econet Prepaid customers have to dial *140# on their Econet phone, and they are ready to roam abroad.

Activating roaming as an Econet Postpaid customer

Econet Postpaid customers have to fill in an application and get it processed before they can roam abroad:

• Download and fill in this application (PDF)
• Hand in the printed form at the nearest Econet shop or send an email to [email protected] at least 6 working hours before departure
• Wait to get an approval
• You are ready to roam abroad

Where can I roam with Econet?

Econet Postpaid customers can roam in more destinations that Prepaid customers. Below you can find the roaming destinations, partners, and tariffs per customer type.

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Econet Prepaid roaming destinations

Prepaid customers can roam in the following 35 destinations:

Roaming in Canada, Ethiopia, and Malaysia is unavailable until further notice.
I reached out to Econet to ask about roaming in Lesotho. They claim that you cannot roam there, but they do list the roaming tariffs for Lesotho.

Econet Prepaid roaming partners & tariffs

The roaming tariffs for Prepaid customers are available for 35 destinations (45 roaming partners), which are listed below.

Notes:

1. Premium calls or satellite calls will cost $113.49 regardless of the destination you are in
2. All tariffs are in USD per minute, SMS, or MB
3. Although Econet claims you can roam in Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire), tariffs are not available. For Lesotho, the tariffs are available, but Econet does not state that you can roam there. Econet has been contacted for clarification.
4. Inc. Call stands for Incoming Call
5. Call to ZW stands for Call to Zimbabwe
6. Out. ROW stands for Outgoing Call Rest of the World
7. L. Out. Call stands for Local Outgoing Call
8. The table is best viewed in landscape mode or desktop view (when on mobile)

Destination	Network	Inc. Call	SMS	L. Out. Call	Call to ZW	Call ROW	Data
Albania	Vodafone	5.86	2.84	5.46	17.21	32.27	N/A
Angola	Unitel	5.86	2.65	5.96	39.72	51.37	N/A
Australia	Vodafone	5.86	5.43	20.66	17.21	104.03	14.19
Belgium	Belgacom	5.86	4.08	13.19	46.9	46.9	N/A
Botswana	Mascom & Orange	4.26	2.46	3.69	13.15	19.39	14.19
Burundi	Econet	5.86	2.65	4.63	27.14	39.72	N/A
China	Unicom	4.54	3.97	6.22	22.51	30.19	14.19
Egypt	Mobinil	5.86	3.97	9.93	43.69	43.69	N/A
Ghana	Vodafone	5.86	1.89	6.5	17.18	47.29	N/A
Greece	Vodafone	5.86	5.3	8.47	15.89	58.26	14.19
Hungary	Vodafone	5.86	3.28	6.38	17.21	37.83	N/A
India	Vodafone	5.86	4.9	11.92	48.46	48.46	N/A
Ireland	Vodafone	5.86	3.31	10.99	15.89	45.95	14.19
Italy	Vodafone	5.86	4.37	15.49	15.89	49.92	14.19
Kenya	Safaricom	5.86	2.65	6.36	26.48	46.34	14.19
Lesotho 3	ETL	5.86	2.27	4.35	10.12	16.93	14.19
Malawi	TNM & Airtel	5.86	2.27	8.04	15.32	21.94	14.19
Malta	Vodafone	5.86	2.84	7.21	17.21	45.4	N/A
Mauritius	Orange	5.86	4.29	4.24	23.04	25.55	N/A
Mozambique	Movitel	4.26	1.89	4.92	11.54	17.31	14.19
Mozambique	Mcel	4.26	1.89	4.92	11.54	17.31	0
Namibia	MTC	4.26	1.7	3.03	5.77	18.73	14.19
Netherlands	Vodafone	5.86	4.63	10.59	15.89	31.78	14.19
New Zealand	Vodafone	5.86	6.22	18.67	15.89	65.28	N/A
Portugal	Vodafone	5.86	4.63	11.12	15.89	37.07	14.19
Qatar	Vodafone	5.86	2.84	7.09	17.21	45.4	N/A
Romania	Vodafone	5.86	2.65	4.24	15.89	37.87	N/A
South Africa	Cell C, Vodacom & MTN	4.16	1.61	6.34	10.31	19.86	14.19
Spain	Vodafone	5.86	5.56	10.59	15.89	43.69	14.19
Sri Lanka	Swisscom	5.86	5.3	14.83	60.91	60.91	N/A
Tanzania	Vodacom	5.86	2.72	7.75	38.75	43.91	14.19
Turkey	Vodafone	5.86	5.16	14.56	15.89	75.47	N/A
United Arab Emirates	Etisalat	5.86	6.89	11.92	93.72	144.32	N/A
United Kingdom	Telefonica	4.54	1.9	15.23	15.23	15.23	14.19
United Kingdom	T Mobile	4.54	2.45	11.96	51.66	99.25	14.19
United Kingdom	Vodafone	4.54	4.9	5.83	15.89	45.02	14.19
United States	T-Mobile	4.54	3.59	16.08	51.54	42.09	14.19
Zambia	Zamtel, Airtel & MTN	5.86	2.27	6.24	10.88	20.71	14.19

Econet Postpaid roaming destinations

Postpaid customers can roam in the following 90 destinations:

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Econet Postpaid roaming partners & tariffs

The roaming tariffs for Postpaid customers are available for 22 destinations (57 roaming partners), which are listed below.

Notes:

_^1. Premium calls or satellite calls will cost $98.64 regardless of the destination you are in
2. All tariffs are in USD per minute, SMS, or MB
3. Data roaming costs $12.39 per MB, except for in Kenya ($49.27/MB), South Africa ($20.81 – all partners), Spain ($82.19/MB – Orange), and the United States ($98.64/MB)
4. Inc. Call stands for Incoming Call
5. Call to ZW stands for Call to Zimbabwe
6. Out. ROW stands for Outgoing Call Rest of the World
7. L. Out. Call stands for Local Outgoing Call
8. The table is best viewed in landscape mode or desktop view (when on mobile)

Destination	Network	Inc. Call	SMS	L. Out. Call	Call to ZW	Call ROW
Australia	Optus, Telstra & Vodafone	5.1	4.69	8.98	22.82	22.82
China	China Mobile & Unicom	3.95	3.45	10.76	21.75	33.22
Botswana	Mascom, Orange & Bmobile	3.69	2.08	3.22	11.35	16.65
Canada	Bell, Rogers & TELUS	3.95	3.45	13	18.92	23.53
France	Bouygues, Orange & SFR France	5.1	3.78	9.81	33.1	33.1
Germany	Telefonica, Vodafone & Eplus	5.1	3.13	10.76	18.5	18.09
Greece	Vodafone & Wind	5.1	4.61	10.76	18.5	31.45
Ireland	Three & Vodafone	5.1	3.13	10.76	18.5	14.78
Italy	TIM, Vodafone & WIND	5.1	4.03	10.76	18.5	19.27
Kenya	Airtel & Safaricom	5.1	3.95	10.29	29.56	31.56
Lesotho	Econet	5.11	1.99	3.78	6.34	18.06
Lesotho	Vodacom	3.59	1.99	3.78	6.34	18.06
Malawi	Airtel & Telkom Network	5.1	2.18	6.95	13.21	18.87
Mozambique	Vodacom	3.69	1.61	4.27	9.93	14.9
Mozambique	Mcel & Movitel	3.69	1.61	4.27	9.93	14.9
Namibia	MTC	3.69	0.85	2.58	4.97	16.09
Netherlands	KPN B.V. & Vodafone	5.1	4.03	8.04	18.5	30.74
Portugal	MEO & Vodafone	5.1	4.03	10.76	18.5	20.92
South Africa	Vodacom, Cell C & Telkom	3.59	1.42	5.56	9.14	17.38
South Africa	MTN	3.59	1.42	5.96	16.39	21.85
Spain	Orange	5.1	4.85	10.76	18.5	25.3
Spain	Telefonica & Vodafone	5.1	4.85	10.76	18.5	25.3
Swaziland	MTN	3.59	1.23	2.58	5.96	15.39
United Kingdom	EE, O2, Vodafone, MANX, 3 & JT Mobile	3.95	4.28	11.11	18.5	15.96
United States	AT&T & T-Mobile	3.95	4.61	16.55	35.47	35.47
Zambia	MTN, Airtel & Zamtel	5.11	1.99	8.14	18.27	22.44

Can I roam on planes with Econet?

In-flight roaming is available to Econet Postpaid subscribers. With in-flight roaming, you can make calls, send SMS, and use data while flying with select airlines on select planes. In-flight roaming is available on the following 21 airlines:

• Aer Lingus
• Air Berlin
• Air France
• Air Serbia
• Air Seychelles
• Alitalia
• Cathay Pacific
• Emirates Airlines
• Etihad Airways
• Eurowings
• Eva Air
• KLM – Royal Dutch Airlines
• Kuwait Airlines
• Lufthansa
• Malindo Air
• Qatar Airways
• SAS – Scandanavian Airline
• Singapore Airlines
• Swiss Air
• Turkish Air
• Virgin Atlantic

NOTE: In-flight roaming has been suspended until further notice. This section will be updated once in-flight roaming has been resumed (and the roaming tariffs will be mentioned too).

Can I roam on cruise ships with Econet?

Econet Postpaid can enjoy maritime roaming on 10 cruise ships sailing in the Caribbean and Americas. With maritime roaming, you can make calls, send SMS, and use data while on a cruise ship. Below are the 10 cruise liners where you can roam on with your Econet phone:

• Azamara Club Cruises
• Celebrity Cruises
• Crystal Cruises
• Disney Cruise Line
• Oceania Cruises
• Pullmantur Cruises
• Regent Seven Seas Cruises
• Royal Caribbean International
• Select Silversea Ships
• SkySea Cruise Line

NOTE: Maritime roaming has been suspended until further notice. This section will be updated once maritime roaming has been resumed (and the roaming tariffs will be mentioned too).

Is roaming with Econet worth it?

Usually, I will say that roaming with a provider is worth it if done in moderation. So far, I have concluded that roaming with one or two providers is worth it. However, roaming with Econet is not worth it at all. Let me explain.

I have reviewed roaming options and prices of telecom providers in over 10 countries. I have never seen one of them charging you $104.03 (Australia) per minute for making an international call. Sure, it is unlikely that you would be making an international call while in Australia (as in, calling someone who is not in Australia or Zimbabwe), but that price is insane.

Nor have I seen a provider charging you $144.32 (United Arab Emirates) for calling back home. In this case, Zimbabwe.

Lastly, getting charged $98.64 (United States) per MB is also the highest data roaming rate I have seen so far.

So no, roaming with Econet is not worth it. I would highly recommend getting a local sim or an international sim to save money while abroad. You could even opt-in for not roaming at all and connecting to WIFI hotspots to keep in touch with your friends and family back home. You could use an internet-based app like Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, or Skype to do so. Make sure to turn data roaming off while abroad, as your roaming bill will be high. Regardless of the destination you are in.