Zambian telecoms sector 'closed'

Barriers to entry into the Zambian telecommunication sector are still active, following government's decision to disallow the issuing of any new mobile network licence for five years, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).

This means that international telecoms operators hoping to invest in Zambia will have to wait for at least five years before they can apply for a fourth mobile licence.

The report, however, comes amid claims by the Zambian government that it has opened up the telecoms market for more investment by regional and international operators in order to develop the sector.

The UK arm of PWC was engaged by the Zambia Information and Technology Authority (ZICTA), the country's telecom sector regulator, to undertake a cost of service study and make recommendations and conclusion on the performance of the telecoms sector in Zambia.

The six-month study revealed that the Zambian telecom sector is still closed up and recommended that the ban be lifted so that the sector is open for more competition through further investment.

During the presentation of the final results of the study, in Lusaka last week, PWC director Michael Hardt said there is a need to ensure adequate competition in Zambia's ICT sector.

“The licensing regime is, to some extent, converged, but not yet unified. The entry barriers are still in place, following government's decision to disallow new mobile networks,” Hardt said.

In February this year, the Ministry of Communication and Transport permanent secretary Dominic Sichinga said the Zambian government will not issue a fourth licence until after 2015, in order to allow existing mobile service providers to roll out new services and “compete favourably”.

Zambia currently has three mobile operators - MTN, Zain and CellZ.

Meanwhile, ZICTA has said it has enough spectrum to license more operators wanting to invest in the Southern African country.

ZICTA director-general Margaret Chalwe said the study included research into the cost of interconnection, a detailed assessment of the competitiveness of different segment of the communication sector in the country and a review of the licensing and tariff regimes.

Chalwe said, in the near future, ZICTA would publish the model of interconnection, access and collocation offers, which would act as a guide when negotiating interconnection agreements, as well as access and collocation contracts among service providers.