In a hurry to roll out mobile and Internet services in the country, the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) has partnered with mobile operator Airtel Zambia in the Universal Access Project that will see the construction of more than 350 sharable towers.
All operators will use the towers and, in turn, Airtel and ZICTA will collect revenue from them.
About 117 communication towers have already been constructed and are being used under the Universal Access Project, which aims to see mobile phone services rolled out in remote rural areas to ease communication problems.
Airtel Zambia MD Fayaz King told the Parliamentary Committee on Communication, Transport, Works and Supply last week that “the towers being constructed will be shared among the operators”.
Tower-sharing allows even small operators, which may not have enough capital to invest in network expansions, to enlarge their networks and compete with bigger operators. The sharing of towers in Zambia is, however, expected to ignite stiff competition among the country's three mobile phone operators, which have all promised to almost double their subscriber numbers as they push their networks into unchartered waters.
In addition to the high cost of erecting the communication towers, access to national grid power has, over the years, been a major challenge hindering the rollout of mobile networks in many parts of the country, as running base stations using diesel is expensive.
But this is now changing as the Zambian government has embarked on a rural electrification project aimed at connecting most areas to the national grid.
In addition, the government has set aside more than $10 million for cellphone connectivity throughout the country, and is already distributing computers, printers and scanners to rural areas for Internet connectivity.
The towers will not only be used for mobile phone communication, but also for television and radio signal transmissions by radio and television stations.
In Zambia, as in many other African countries, mobile operators have been refusing to expand their networks to rural areas, claiming low returns on their investments because of the high cost involved in importing telecoms equipment. However, following the Zambian government granting tax holidays on telecoms equipment to operators almost three months ago, Airtel and ZICTA, the country's telecoms sector regulator, have stepped up efforts to have rural areas covered by erecting telecoms towers.
Kapembwa Simbo, chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Communication, Transport, Works and Supply, said: “Airtel should also enhance health communication through telecommunications.”
Zambian operators currently have an infrastructure share agreement, enabling all service providers to cover many rural areas of the country.
The Zambian government said it wants to give enough time to the three operators to compete and invest more money in expansion projects before considering a fourth operator.
ZICTA is using the Universal Access Fund (UAF) for the project. The UAF is funded by contributions from licensed phone operators and Internet service providers that channel 2% of their gross income into the fund.
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