The Telecommunication
Act, activated on July 1, 1994, split the Posts and Telecommunications
Corporation (PTC), a subsidiary of Zambia Industrial and Mining Corporation (ZIMCO), into two autonomous
entities: Zambia Postal Services Corporation reverted to being an autonomous entity wholly
owned by the Government, and Zambia Telecommunications Company Limited (ZAMTEL) retained
the status of a limited liability company, with Government as sole shareholder.
ZAMTEL is
currently the only national operator in the country providing telecommunication
network and services. In conjunction with the relaunching of ZAMTEL, the company has
undergone a series of internal reforms which include the appointment of a new managing
director and the establishment of three operational units along regional lines (Northern, Southern and Lusaka) to
promote greater efficiency. Discussions are underway to privatise ZAMTEL in the near
future, but it is not yet clear what type of privatisation is envisioned.
The Telecommunication Act of July
1994 established the Communications Authority of Zambia (CAZ),
whose main responsibilities are to regulate and monitor the provision and operation of
telecommunication services in the country and to oversee the coexistence of the various
entities involved in the sector. The powers and functions of the Communications Authority
are executed by the board of Regulators appointed by the Minister responsible for
communications. CAZ is headed by a
controller of communications. The Authority may grant licences for the provision and
operation of telecommunication services to eligible individuals or organisations subject
to prescribed conditions.
One of the first tasks undertaken
by CAZ was to issue competing cellular licenses. The first license was awarded to ZAMTEL,
and the second to TELECEL.
ZAMTEL
runs a Staff Training College
registered under the Department of Technical
Education and Vocational Training (DTEVT), and it is wholly owned by the Zambia
Telecommunications Company Limited and the Zambia Postal Services Corporation as a
collaborating partner. The ZAMTEL Staff Training College is a Technical and Vocational
Training College established in 1972 with the assistance of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and Universal Postal
Union (UPU). The College, which was established primarily to produce trained personnel for
the then Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (PTC), extended training to other
organisations like parastatals, government, etc. Students from neighbouring countries have
also been training at the college. After twenty-five years in existence, the Staff
Training College intends to introduce a City and Guilds Diploma Programme in
Telecommunications Technology. The diploma programme will focus on Telecommunications
Technology and Business Management. The programme's approach will ensure the quality of
future output and performance in a highly competitive business environment.
Telecommunications plans
Through ZAMTEL and other operators
the government intends to increase teledensity in the country from the existing 0.91 line
(1998) to 2 lines per 100 people. This requires the installation of 131,000 new lines in
addition to the existing 77,700 lines (1998). The following projects are also planned for
the next five years:
- Digitisation of transmission
network;
- Conversion of earth satellite
stations to digital;
- Introduction of GSM mobile cellular
service; and
- Provision of X.25 data services.
Cellular (Mobile) phone
network
The following are the cellular
mobile operators in Zambia:
ZAMTEL Cellular
Mobile Telephone Services (MTS) is based on the analogue advanced mobile phone system
(AMPS), a standard of the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) of the USA, and it
operates in the 800 MHz frequency band. The service started its operation in August 1995
within Lusaka only. The system had four cell sites (base stations) at Lamya House,
Woodlands, Chelstone and Chilanga. The network started with a meager 70 voice channels,
277 cellular telephones (The NEC P100' hot dog series) and a system capacity of 430
customers. After the connection of the 277 terminals, the terminal instrument market was
liberalised. ZAMTEL started to accept from customers any type of cellular phone for
connection as long as it conformed to the operating A-AMPS standard. By November 1996, the
system expanded from 376 voice channels and raised the customer capacity to 6,740. The
present network of the ZAMTEL Cellular Mobile Telephone System (CMTS) include seven cell
sites and offers service coverage and good quality transmission in the urban and
peri-urban areas of Lusaka including Chilanga, Kitwe and Ndola.
Telecel (Zambia) Ltd.:
In July 1998, CDC (Commonwealth
Development Corporation) signed an agreement to provide US$ 3.4 million in mezzanine
finance and US$ 10.8 million in secured loans for the financing of Telecel (Zambia)
Limited's US$ 42.5 million project. Telecel will build, own and operate a cellular
communications system, providing both mobile and fixed wireless telephones to over 46,000
subscribers in Zambia. Telecel’s cellular communication system will concentrate on
the major urban areas of Lusaka and the mining region of the Copperbelt, and also the
major commercial corridor between the two. The system utilises digital state-of-the-art
technology to provide basic telephone services to mobile and fixed wireless users, both
business and residential. Telecel is awaiting a licence to install its own satellites to
become independent in providing international services. Telecel Zambia, owned 30% locally,
is a subsidiary of Telecel International Ltd, the US-based cellular telecommunications
group which has substantial experience of operating telecommunications businesses in
Africa.
Source: http://www.cdc.co.uk/29-07-98.html
Zamcell Cellular
Network: The Development Bank of Southern
Africa (DBSA) agreed to extend a US dollar-based loan to Zamcell Limited in the amount of
US$ 4.5 million (R25 million) for the installation and operation of a nation-wide
GSM-based digital cellular telecommunications network in Zambia. The loan agreement was
signed on 18 November, 1998, in Lusaka. The total cost of the project is US$ 16.9 million
(R 94.8 million) and consists of:
- a headquarters and switch facility
situated in Lusaka,
- 16 base stations in Lusaka, the
Copperbelt and Livingstone areas,
- interconnections to the fixed wire
network of the Zambia Telecommunications Company (ZAMTEL),
- a microwave network connected to
radio base stations situated throughout Zambia, and
- rural services provided via fixed
GSM pay phones.
Zamcell Limited was awarded a
15-year licence to operate the second private sector cellular telecommunications network
in Zambia. The project aims to provide telecommunications access to up to 30,000
subscribers. The Zambian registered project company will be primarily owned by Mobile
Systems International Cellular Investments (MSI Investments), which will hold a stake of
80%, with Mitsui & Co and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) each holding
10%. The IFC will also invest a further US$ 4.5 million in loan financing for the project.
Source: http://www.dbsa.org/PressReleases/ZambianCell.htm
Cardphone network
In addition to the current
token-operated payphones, ZAMTEL is in the process of installing another
400 pay-phones and 150 smart card phones in the country. ASCOM of Denmark is providing the
equipment.
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There is no policy process for
developing a national information infrastructure plan or a national academic/research
network project in Zambia. The official body in Zambia responsible for academic/research
networking is the National Scientific Research Council (NSRC), which suffers from
critical institutional underdevelopment and lacks even of basic computer equipment.
The major networking centre
is the Information Technology
Resources Center of the University of Zambia (UNZA). Following the
University's deployment of Information Technology (IT) as a key facilitator to achieving
its goals and objectives in its present strategic plan and the Computer Centre's
successful implementation of the university's "campus network," a commercially
oriented Consultancy and Training
Unit (CTU) has been put in place to provide consultancy and training services
in Information Technology to the IT market in Zambia and the region.
In order to assist developing
countries in articulating their demand for ICT applications, the International Institute for Communication and
Development (IICD) facilitated National ICT
Roundtables. The Roundtables focus on the identification, development and implementation
of an ICT policy and of pilot projects. A National ICT Roundtable was held in Lusaka,
Zambia, on November 5-11, 1998. The workshop was co-ordinated by the dominant Internet
Service Provider in Zambia, ZAMNET Communications Ltd., with support of the Ministry of
Communication and Transport. As a result from the Roundtable workshop, the following
recommendations were made by the participants:
- Continuity and co-ordination of ICT
policy which will allow the integration as well as ensure sustainable development;
- ICT policy should provide for
adequate training and capacity building; and
- ICT policy implementations
should be supported by public awareness activities and
activities that encourage public participation.
The following five project ideas
emanated from the Roundtable:
- Local Governance Information
Centres: This project aims to support the overall objective of increasing
civic awareness of governance issues and policies, and to improve community
participation in decision-making.
- Business Information Centre:
This project proposes to use ICT for the dissemination of information to subsistence
farmers and small business entrepreneurs.
- Distance Learning Centres:
These centres will strive to provide distance education at rural centres and cyber-cafes.
- Hospital Information
Management System: This project aims to create an ICT management and monitoring
system. The system will electronically store and retrieve information on patients,
records the deployment of hospital personnel, and on use of drugs.
- Water Sanitation Information
System: The project will contribute to the education of communities on the use of
appropriate water sanitation.
The UNECA's Sub-Regional
Development Centre for Southern Africa (SRDC-SA) is located in Lusaka and is charged
with supporting sub-regional electronic information exchange networks of economic
experts, civil society, NGOs, private sector organisations and major corporations.
The Common Market for
Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), located in
Lusaka, maintains a web site which provides a comprehensive range of information for 21
member states. COMESA's main focus is the formation of a large economic
and trading unit capable of overcoming some of the barriers that are faced by
individual states.
There are currently four Internet Service Providers in Zambia. The average communication costs are:
| Connection
charges |
US$ 25.00 |
| Monthly
fixed charge |
US$ 20.00 |
The School of Education of
the University of Zambia (UNZA) offers a four-year program leading to a Bachelor
of Arts degree in Library and Information Studies. The School of Engineering within
the University has a degree programme in electrical engineering.
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