14 December 2022

Paratus Zambia has signed an agreement with Meta for the construction of a 900km open-access metropolitan fibre optic network across ten towns in Zambia. The project aims to improve the quality of broadband internet connectivity in the cities concerned.

The project will be carried out in two phases. The first will bring fibre to six cities by January 2023, while the second is expected to connect the remaining four cities before the end of next year. The network will be based on Paratus’ existing fibre infrastructure in Zambia. It will also be connected to Paratus’ neutral data centre in Lusaka.

This project is part of Paratus’ strategy to ‘transform Africa through exceptional digital infrastructure and customer service.’ It comes at a time when internet usage remains low in Zambia despite growing demand and accelerating digital transformation. According to the regulator’s statistics for the second quarter of 2022, around 10 million Zambians are connected to the internet, representing a penetration of around 53%.

“These metropolitan networks are key to building digital communities and helping businesses scale, especially in under-connected communities,” said Nomonde Gongxeka-Seopa, public policy manager for Southern Africa at Meta.