ZICTA dispels rumors that Vodafone Zambia has been issued with a licence to provide voice services

By Staff Reporter, LUSAKA

In light of the rising speculation from the general public and other stakeholders, as evidenced by the numerous enquires that the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) has been receiving recently, the Authority has dispelled the perception that Mobile Broadband Zambia Limited Trading As "Vodafone Zambia "is entering the market as a voice provider.

And ZICTA public relations manager, Ngabo Nankonde said the Authority has not issued a licence permitting any entity other than MTN, Airtel and Zamtel to provide voice services to the public.

Ms Nankonde said such a licence is an individual licence which, under the current licensing framework, is issued through a competitive process.

She added that Mobile Broadband Zambia Limited currently only holds a class Network (wireless internet) licence and class Service (internet) licence.

“These licenses only enable Mobile Broadband Zambia Limited to construct a data network and to provide data services to the Public. Mobile Broadband Zambia Limited is therefore not allowed under the said licences to provide voice services,” Ms Nankonde said.

Ms Nankonde explained that Mobile Broadband Zambia Limited's scope of operations and service offering are therefore strictly limited to the provision of mobile data services and not voice services.

“Mobile Broadband Zambia was assigned a Mobile Network Code (MNC) for network identification and to facilitate their service offering, but has not been assigned any subscriber numbers by ZICTA,” she explained.

She further said Mobile Broadband Zambia Limited Trading as "Vodafone Zambia must not be confused to be "Vodacom" which currently has no licences to operate in Zambia.

Ms Nankonde reiterated that Mobile Broadband Zambia Limited, is only permitted to provide retail data services to the Zambian market and Mobile Broadband Zambia Limited Trading As "Vodafone Zambia "has been directed to ensure that this must be unequivocally reflected in all aspects of its operations including branding and corporate communications.