Under the new law , motorists must pay US$92 each year for a radio licence.

This amount must be paid before drivers can renew their vehicle licence discs or register for insurance. The fee is part of the Broadcasting Services Amendment Act, which aims to raise money for the state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC).

The government expects the move to generate millions of dollars in revenue.

Zimbabwe has about 1.2 million registered vehicles, and could earn around US$73 million per year if only 800,000 drivers comply.

However, the new policy has sparked criticism .

Many Zimbabweans say the licence fee is too high, especially in a country already facing economic challenges.

Opposition politicians and motorists have also argued that the ZBC focuses more on promoting the ruling party than serving the public with balanced news and information.

The rest, including parts of the coast and northern regions, continue to experience call drops, slow data speeds, and weak signal strength.

The worst performance came from Telkom Kenya, which met the quality standard in only three counties, Lamu, Marsabit, and Kisii.

This low performance dragged down the country’s overall average to 73.5 per cent, according to The Eastleigh Voice.

Safaricom, on the other hand, met the target in 30 counties, and Airtel in 24. On a national scale, Safaricom scored 88.1 per cent, Airtel 83.3 per cent, while Telkom lagged behind at 67.6 per cent.

The findings come at a time when mobile phone use is booming across Kenya.

In the last quarter of 2023 alone, Kenyans bought over four million smartphones.

This is the fastest growth in device sales ever recorded in such a short period.

The law requires telecom companies to meet basic service standards, including voice quality, call setup time, data speed, and SMS delivery.

The regulator uses outdoor and indoor tests to measure performance and may issue penalties or sanctions if providers fail to comply.