- The Zambian government and the private sector are constructing 520 communication towers across the country, Zambia’s Minister of Science and Technology, Felix Mutati, disclosed.
- This initiative aims to achieve 96% phone and Internet coverage by the end of 2025, extending into early 2026. The government will handle the construction of 340 communication towers while the private sector will take on an addition of 180 towers.
- The 520 towers are expected to increase the quality of communication and enable people to use online services, including ones offered by the government like the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP), Social Cash Transfer, and Internet mobile services.
Before the announcement, the Minister stated “The incentives given to the private sector have played a key role in growing private sector investment in the ICT sector. Since these incentives were given a year ago, internet penetration has risen from 53% to 64%.”
However, DataReportal reveals that Zambia’s Internet penetration rate stood at 31.2% of the total population at the start of 2024 and is estimated to reach 43.44% in 2024.
The Minister highlighted that since gaining independence in 1964, Zambia has laid a total of 25,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable. Notably, the private sector has contributed 5,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable within the past year alone. “This has significantly increased internet penetration,” he added.
He also communicated in a different post on X that the Google Cloud Director of Global Strategic Initiatives, Manuel Greisinger said the company is connecting Zambia to Umoja, a fibre optic project linking Africa and Australia directly.
In May 2024, Google announced the Umoja project, which will begin in Kenya and extend through the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, ultimately reaching South Africa.
What’s more, Greisinger said the Umoja connection is anticipated to help Zambia rapidly adapt to artificial intelligence (AI), enhancing both government and private sector services. The Minister also mentioned that the government is currently establishing an AI framework.
Source
techpoint.africa
