The Zambian government is considering reversing the law governing mobile provision, to pave the way for the entry of a fourth mobile operator in Zambia.
The Zambia Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) have been pushing the Zambian government to reverse the law barring the entry of a fourth mobile operator in the country.
The organisations feel the restriction is uncompetitive, and they want it reversed immediately in order to open up the telecoms sector for competition.
The new Zambian minister of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications, Yamfwa Mukanga, has said having many telecoms players on the market is welcome, because it is the wish of the government to see that the economy is liberalised so as to benefit many players.
“The law that restricts the country to three mobile operators was introduced at a time when the Zambia Telecommunication Company (Zamtel) was sold to LAP Green Network of Libya.”
The government's intention then was to protect Zamtel from competition from the new entrant on the market.
Time needed
MTN South Africa's subsidiary, MTN Zambia, India's Bharti Airtel, and Libya's Zamtel are the three telecoms service providers currently operating in the Zambian market. In issuing the law in 2009, the previous Zambian government claimed the three operators need to be given enough time to adequately expand their networks and compete favourably.
In this regard, government said for another operator to enter the market, Zambia is supposed to attain a certain level in both subscription and potential, which will warrant the continued profitability of all market players.
In November last year, the Ministry's permanent secretary Nelson Nyangu said the decision to remove entry barriers would only be made once the situation has been reviewed, effectively upholding the decision by the previous government to disallow the issuing of mobile licences.
But ZACCI and CCPC have been pushing the Zambian government to reverse the law that restricts entry of a fourth mobile phone operator, in order to promote competition in the telecoms sector that would, in turn, bring down the high cost of communication.
Mukanga said, however, that even when there are a lot of players on the market, it is not automatic that the price of products and services are reduced. Taking an example of South Africa, which only has three mobile operators, Mukanga said it was cheaper to make a phone call in SA than in Tanzania, which has seven mobile service operators.
The ban was implemented despite the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) stating there is enough spectrum to license more operators in the country.
Two years ago, the UK arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers was engaged by ZICTA to undertake a cost service study and make recommendations on the performance of the telecoms sector in Zambia.
The six-month study revealed the Zambian telecoms sector was still closed, and recommended the ban be lifted so the sector would be open for more competition through further investment.
Related story:
Airtel Zambia to upgrade infrastructure
Share