Zain Given 48 Hours to Fix Zambian Network Problem

The Communications Authority of Zambia (CAZ) has given Zain's local mobile network operator two days to fix a rolling series of service outages on its network or face financial penalties.

CAZ director public and international relations, Lotty Kakubo said in a statement "The authority wishes to inform the general public that we are aware of the service outages being experienced by users on Zain Zambia network."

"Given the length of time that the problem has persisted, Zain Zambia has been directed to resolve the problem within 48 hours,"

In a statement put out by the operator, it put the problems down to work carried out last Wednesday evening on its Ericsson switching centre in Lusaka.

The company floated 20% of its shares on the local stock market last year, and spent around US$80 million on improving its network coverage in order to cope with subscriber growth

According to figures from the Mobile World tracker, Zain (formerly Celtel) ended Q1 2009 with just over 2.7 million customers - and a market share of nearly 70%. The country itself has a population penetration level of 32% and two other operators, Zamtel and MTN.

On the web: Mobile World - Zain Zambia - Communications Authority of Zambia

Posted to the site on 6th July 2009