Econet has been facing network challenges for a few days now. They communicated a couple of days ago that they were experiencing a technical issue affecting recharge and some banking services. They apologised for the inconvenience caused and assured customers that they were working to restore normal service. While some services have been restored, there are still some issues remaining.
Econet announced that customers can now top up their airtime using recharge cards purchased from an Econet vendor. However, services dependent on USSD are still not functioning properly. Calls, SMS, and internet services have been working fine, so customers can still use those features without any problems.
Techzim Affected
Techzim, a technology news website, also reported that they were affected by the network issues. They mentioned that *405#, a service code for Econet, was not working. However, they highlighted that NetOne users had alternative options like purchasing airtime on the Techzim website, via WhatsApp, or through their app.
- WhatsApp (+263717684274), or
- via our app if you have it installed.
Econet explained that the technical challenge was caused by a major fault at their data centre, which affected a significant number of servers. A data center is a physical facility that houses critical IT infrastructure such as servers and networking equipment. The fault impacted services related to recharge channels, USSD-based value-added services, third-party services, and administrative applications.
Econet’s data centre plays various roles, including housing core network equipment and supporting service delivery and content hosting. Value-added services like mobile banking, mobile TV, and USSD-based services rely on dedicated servers and storage resources, which were affected by the data centre fault.
The timeline for resolving all the issues is uncertain. Econet mentioned that they are prioritising the restoration of services based on customer usage. They aim to address the services that affect the most people first. However, this approach may result in delays for less widely used services, which could be frustrating for those who rely on them.