Liquid Home Zimbabwe is using lower prices, a wider fibre network and free public Wi-Fi to defend its position as Starlink rapidly gains ground in the country’s broadband market.
The competition has intensified after Zimbabwe’s satellite internet subscriptions rose to 86,488 in the first quarter of 2026. The figure, recorded under the Very Small Aperture Terminal, or VSAT, category, was only 17 connections below the 86,505 active fibre connections reported for the same period.
The near tie marks a major change in a market where fibre and fixed wireless providers once held the clearest advantage in urban areas. Starlink, which launched in Zimbabwe in September 2024, has expanded quickly by offering high-speed connectivity without the need for a local cable network to reach each home or business.
Liquid Home’s answer has been to make its existing infrastructure more attractive and more affordable. The company has rolled out its Infinity range for high-density urban markets such as Harare and Bulawayo, while continuing to promote FibroniX fibre services and a growing network of public Wi-Fi access points.
The strategy puts price at the centre of the battle. Starlink’s standard residential service launched at US$50 a month, with a separate equipment cost, while its smaller Mini package was priced at US$30 a month. The service offered speeds of up to 200 megabits per second on the standard plan and up to 100 megabits per second on the Mini plan.
Those prices immediately forced local internet service providers to reconsider what households and small businesses could afford. Before Starlink entered the market, some unlimited fibre packages cost several hundred US dollars a month. Local operators have since cut prices and introduced more flexible plans, narrowing the gap between satellite and terrestrial broadband.
Liquid Home’s Infinity packages are part of that response. The range is designed to create a stronger price proposition for customers who already live within reach of the company’s fibre network. It gives Liquid room to compete on monthly costs while avoiding the satellite customer’s upfront dish and equipment expense.
The company’s published FibroniX range shows how it is positioning fibre for different types of users. Its entry-level family packages offer capped data and speeds of up to 100Mbps, while higher monthly plans are aimed at households with several connected devices. Other packages offer speeds of up to 250Mbps, 300Mbps, 500Mbps and 750Mbps, with options for high-definition streaming, gaming and multiple users working at the same time.
Liquid Home also includes installation, a free telephone number and access to FibroniX on the Go with its fibre packages. That service allows subscribers to use their home internet allowance at Liquid and Liquid Home Wi-Fi zones around the country. The arrangement extends a fixed home connection into public spaces and gives the provider a way to make fibre useful beyond the customer’s address.
The company’s broader public Wi-Fi campaign is built around the message, “His office doesn’t have walls”. The campaign shows a senior executive taking a business call on a golf course and presents connectivity as something that can follow people wherever work takes them.
Its central message is direct: “Move business with Free public Wi-Fi, close deals right there and then. Your city is LIVE. FREE Wi-Fi, Anytime, Anywhere.”
Liquid Home says its free Wi-Fi network is now available at more than 700 public access points across Zimbabwe. The locations include hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, shopping centres, central business districts and airports. Users can connect with a Wi-Fi-enabled phone or computer without buying a voucher, opening a Liquid account or signing up for a subscription.
The service provides four hours of free internet access at participating locations. At all major airports in Zimbabwe, users are offered unlimited access. Liquid Home says the network runs over its FibroniX backbone, giving it a stronger technical base than the slow and heavily restricted public Wi-Fi services familiar to many users.
For students, job seekers and informal traders, four hours of free access can cover important daily tasks. It can be used to complete an online assignment, attend a virtual interview, send business messages or upload documents without spending mobile data. For Liquid Home, the network also provides a way to introduce new users to its wider services.
The company is betting that people who experience its public network will consider its paid home products when they need a permanent connection. The campaign therefore serves two purposes: it extends access to people who cannot afford regular data bundles and brings potential customers into contact with Liquid’s network.
That approach is becoming more important as internet use rises across Zimbabwe. During the first quarter of 2026, internet traffic increased by 57.28 per cent while active mobile subscriptions grew by only 2.99 per cent. The figures show that existing users are consuming more data through video, social media, digital payments, cloud services and online work.
The growth is also increasing pressure on national infrastructure. Operators have been expanding fibre routes, international bandwidth, mobile sites and 5G networks to keep pace with demand. Fibre access networks more than doubled to about 8,500 kilometres, while the national fibre backbone grew to more than 19,000 kilometres.
This rising demand gives both fibre and satellite providers room to expand, but their strengths are different. Starlink can reach places where laying cable is slow or commercially difficult. Once a customer has the required equipment and a clear view of the sky, the service can operate without waiting for a terrestrial network to be built.
Liquid Home’s advantage is its established local infrastructure. Its fibre network is already present in many urban areas, where customers often want stable service, lower latency and support from a local provider. Fibre can also avoid the satellite equipment cost and the need to install a dish, making it more practical for households that are already covered by the network.
The latest subscription figures do not mean that fibre has disappeared. Fibre connections continued to grow, but at a much slower pace than satellite subscriptions. Between the third quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2026, satellite added more than 82,000 connections, while fibre added just over 7,000. Fixed LTE also recorded substantial growth, while older DSL connections fell.
The numbers show that Zimbabweans are choosing between several technologies according to price, availability and performance. Starlink has widened the market, particularly for customers outside established fibre areas. Liquid Home is trying to hold its urban base by cutting costs, adding public access and making its fibre products more useful away from home.
The contest is likely to remain focused on affordability. Satellite has changed customer expectations, but fibre providers still control much of the country’s backbone infrastructure. Liquid Home’s Infinity range and free Wi-Fi rollout show how the company intends to use that advantage: not by waiting for customers to return, but by bringing down the cost of access and putting its network in more places where Zimbabweans live and work.
For consumers, the result is a wider choice of connections than the country had before Starlink arrived. For Liquid Home, the challenge is to turn its infrastructure lead into a service that is affordable enough to keep urban customers while extending reliable internet access to people who have traditionally relied on expensive mobile data.
The office, as the company’s campaign puts it, no longer needs walls. The next question is which network will be able to follow Zimbabwe’s workers, students and businesses wherever they go.