The telecommunications regulator in Africa’s red metal producer Zambia has announced the entrance of a fourth Mobile Network Operators (MNO) Beeline Telecommunications Limited. This development will push Zambia’s telecoms market structure a notch away from oligopoly but one step closer to perfect competition as the offering landscape widens.
According to a press release dated February 19, the Zambia Telecommunications and Communications Authority (ZICTA) announced the awarding of an international network and national service license with associated resources including but not limited to frequent spectrum and numbers to Beeline Telecoms.
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Zambia is reaping the benefits of a combined licensing framework whose enactment was implemented a few years back after a survey of East Africa. This framework was pursued with the intent of reducing data and telecoms costs in the sector which ideally have been high for a long time. Earlier two years ago, UZI had been granted a license to be the fourth MNO but for operational and capital challenges, its successful entry was incapacitated leading to license revocation by ZICTA.
The decision by the regulator was based on an assessment of Zambia’s Information and Communications Telecommunications (ICT) sector, the currency service quality by the 3 current licensees and the need to boost competition.
Beeline Telecoms is a wholly owned indigenous entity that will face Airtel, MTN and Zamtel on the competitive battle front. Operations are expected in the next half year.
The Kwacha Arbitrageur