19 July 2019

The mobile phone subscription penetration rate in Zambia is now at 90.3%, according to latest figures from the country’s regulator.

The Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) reported that in Q1 2019, the number rose slightly to 15.7 million, up from 15.5 million in Q4 2018.

The increase is attributed to, among other things, the expansion of networks by mobile phone network operators who are competing for customers in a population that has become more digitally aware.

Last year, ZICTA warned that the aggressive advertising and marketing campaigns from the likes of MTN Zambia, Airtel Zambia and Zamtel have pushed the nation’s market towards the saturation point.

The country’s communications and transport Brian Mushimba said he expected the local mobile market to grow more this year after the arrival of Uzi Zambia, the country’s fourth licensed operator.

Mushimba said the new network being established by Uzi will cover the entire country and represents direct competition for the three other operators. Uzi is expected to launch by October 2019.

“Where competition is, consumers always benefit because the companies are going to compete on quality of service, they are going to compete on the price of service and they are going to compete on the reach of the service,” Mushimba said.

ZICTA’s statistics also show that the number of mobile internet users increased to 10.2 million from 9.8 million, representing a 58.9% penetration rate.