Zambia: Zambia Communication Profile

Zambia’s GDP has remained almost unaffected by the global economic crisis and is expected to continue growing at around 8% p.a.

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).

Estimated market penetration rates in Zambia’s telecoms sector