Find Telecommunication expertise in Zambia

There are 7 main telephone lines, 280 mobile cellular subscribers and 56 internet users per 1,000 people (2008).

In July of 1994, the Zambia parliament began the liberalisation of the telecoms sector through the passing of the Telecommunications Act, which herald a new era of private participation in the sector.

Following the liberalisation of the sector, mobile telephony grew strongly in the 2000s, with keen competition among three providers – Cell Z (state owned), Zain (76% market share in 2006) and MTN-Zambia – and by 2009 all regions of Zambia were covered by at least one network.

The landlocked country has recently gained access to international submarine fibre optic cables for the first time, which has already led to some significant retail price reductions for broadband services. Third Generation (3G) mobile broadband services have been launched and national fibre networks are being rolled out by four different companies. The first commercial LTE network launches have been undertaken, which has dramatically increased the number of mobile broadband subscribers in the country. Several ISPs have also rolled out WiMAX wireless broadband networks. These developments are set to increase overall broadband penetration significantly in coming years.

Although the mobile voice market is approaching saturation, the government is reviving old plans to issue a fourth mobile licence. The country’s telecoms regulator has launched legal action against the existing mobile networks because of poor quality of service (QoS).

The Communications Authority of Zambia is the telecoms industry regulator.