Before you start

Unlocked handset
Passport
A Bulawayo address
Passport photograph, sometimes requested

Step-by-step

1
Buy and register at an operator shop
Registration against your passport is compulsory under POTRAZ's subscriber regulations and is done at purchase. Use an operator shop rather than a street vendor so the line is genuinely in your own name.
In personWho: You
2
Choose the network on coverage, not brand
Econet has the largest footprint and EcoCash; NetOne is state-owned and often cheaper on data. Coverage varies suburb to suburb in Bulawayo, so ask neighbours what actually works where you will live.
In personWho: You
3
Activate mobile money
EcoCash or OneMoney. Note that the ZiG and USD wallets are separate and are not interchangeable at the counter.
Mobile appWho: You
4
Always buy data as a bundle
Out-of-bundle rates are punitive. Set a bundle up on day one and check what it actually covers.
Mobile appWho: You
5
Learn the landline codes
Bulawayo's national destination code is 9 — dialled 0292 domestically — while Harare's is 4, dialled 0242. Hospitals, the council and government offices still publish landlines, and dialling the wrong code is the commonest newcomer error here.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Proof of Bulawayo address
Passport photograph, sometimes

Things most newcomers don’t know

The emergency number depends on the network, and Bulawayo has its own council line.

POTRAZ assigns 112 to emergency services on Econet and Telecel, 114 to police on NetOne, and 993, 994, 995 and 999 to fire, ambulance, police and general emergency on the fixed network. Bulawayo City Council additionally publishes an Econet toll-free number, 08080081, for fire and ambulance. Save both.

Source: POTRAZ — Zimbabwe National Numbering Plan; Bulawayo City Council call centre contacts

Mobile money is tied to the registered identity. A line registered to someone else works until you need to recover the wallet or prove a payment, at which point it is legally not yours.

Source: POTRAZ — Subscriber Registration Regulations, SI 95 of 2014

Data prices, not coverage, are what make remote work hard here.

Bundles are the norm because out-of-bundle rates are punishing, and heavy video calling adds up quickly. Combined with load shedding, this is the practical reason Bulawayo's low rents do not translate into a cheap remote-work base.

Source: community-reported, consistently

Keep a second network's SIM.

Coverage and capacity vary between operators and suburbs, and outages happen. A cheap backup SIM is standard local practice rather than over-preparation.

Source: community-reported