Sunday, February 28, 2010

Zambia - Zain blames ZICTA for 3G rollout delay

[it news africa] Zain Zambia, which plans to rollout its 3G network in the country, has issued a complaint saying the process has been delayed by Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA).

The company’s managing director, David Holliday, argued that Zain Zambia was ready to introduce 3G services in the country once it had a license issued by ZICTA, writes Zambia’s publication The Post.

“We would have expected 3G and other licences under to have been issued by now. So, we are patiently waiting for the licence to be issued. Once this licence is issued, we’ll be ready to rollout 3G for the benefit of Zambian consumers”, told Holliday.

Zain Zambia is currently awaiting the Statutory Instrument for 3G to be released by the authority.

The mobile operator has invested over US $10 million in 3G infrastructure.

Also, Zain Zambia had made an announcement at the Lusaka Stock Exchange (LuSE), regarding the sale of its parent company. In the statement, the Zambian operator denies disposal of any shares, saying that it would remain 78,9% owned by Celtel Zambia Holding BV. The proposed sale of Zain’s African operations to India’s Bharti Airtel would also exclude Zain Sudan and Morocco.

Kuwaiti telecom operator Zain and Bharti Airtel are expected to sign a letter of intent for the US $9 billion African assets deal this week.

Zain Zambia blames ZICTA for 3G rollout delay

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