Zambia Communications - 2024

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 96,284 (2022 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2021 est.) less than 1

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 20 million (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 100 (2021 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: following elections held in August 2021, the new government immediately established a Ministry of Technology and Science to promote the use of ICT in developing economic growth and social inclusion; this focus on ICT, and on telecoms in particular, has been central to government strategies for some years; as part of the Smart Zambia initiative, investment has been made in data centers, a computer assembly plant, ICT training centers, and a Smart Education program; these efforts have been combined with the extension of broadband access and improved connectivity to international submarine cables; in turn, this has resulted in a considerable reduction in fixed-line and mobile access pricing for end-users; mobile network operators continue to invest in 3G and LTE-based services, the government contracted to upgrade the state-owned mobile infrastructure for 5G services; delays in holding spectrum have stymied the development of 5G thus far; in mid-2021 the regulator completed a consultation of auctioning low, medium, and high band spectrum for 5G, aiming to provide sufficient spectrum to meet the anticipated increase in data traffic in coming years; fixed-line broadband services remain underdeveloped (2022)

domestic: fixed-line teledensity less than 1 per 100 and mobile-cellular is 100 per 100 (2021)

international: country code - 260; multiple providers operate overland fiber optic routes via Zimbabwe/South Africa, Botswana/Namibia and Tanzania provide access to the major undersea cables

Broadcast media

according to the Independent Broadcast Authority, there are 137 radio stations and 47 television stations in Zambia; out of the 137 radio stations, 133 are private (categorized as either commercial or community radio stations), while 4 are public-owned; state-owned Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) operates 2 television channels and 3 radio stations; ZNBC owns 75% shares in GoTV, 40% in MultiChoice, and 40% in TopStar Communications Company, all of which operate in-country

(2019)

Internet country code

.zm

Internet users

total: 3.99 million (2021 est.)

percent of population: 21% (2021 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 82,317 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 0.5 (2020 est.)