The Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority – ZICTA has for the fourth time permitted Unitel, which was to launch the country’s fourth mobile phone operator UZI Zambia to postpone the launch of its mobile network to March 2020 due to lack of resources by its parent company Unitel International Holdings BV.
The launch of UZI Zambia has for the fourth time been pushed to March 2020 and this was confirmed by Permanently Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Communications Misheck Lungu through an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT on January 22, 2020.
He explained that the delay in the launch of the mobile network is attributed to lack of resources from its parent Company Unitel as it requested ZICTA to consider extending its license for 6 months due to challenges in externalizing funds.
Lungu disclosed that the ZICTA had granted UZI an extension of up to end of May 2020, which is the expiry date of its initial license period hence hoping that the company begins to operate before the stipulated date.
“UZI faced some challenges with finances from its parent company hence they asked us if we can extend their license to the closure date, so they can find a way of sourcing the required funds. Aside that they have started talks with companies they would sign contracts with and are planning to rent out towers for them to start their business,” he added.
Lungu further stated that once operational, UZI is expected to buy some services from ZESCO and Liquid Telecom and will co-locate some facilities. “They are making progress in sourcing resources, hence we are hopeful that they get on the ground before March 2020”. Efforts by ZBT to reach UZI’s local representatives in Zambia proved futile before press time.
UZI Zambia whose shareholder is Unitel International Holdings BV registered in the Netherlands secured a very competitive mobile phone network license in March 2018 and was first scheduled to launch in December 2018.
Questions have arisen on the viability and feasibility of the future launch of UZI with calls to cancel the license and re-issue it to another company company growing, following international media reports that one of the major shareholder in Unitel, Africa’s richest woman, Isabel Dos Santos is facing graft allegations from her home country government of Angola which are projected to drag.
The parent company, Unitel in which Africa’s richest woman, Isabel Dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s former president owns 25 percent pledged to invest more than US$350 million through a local unit to be called UZI Zambia Mobile Network.
A review done by the Zambian Business Times – ZBT indicates that, In January 2019 UZI issued a statement confirming it would launch operations in February 2019 and said at the time that the delay was the result of making sure equipment was properly installed and thoroughly tested.
Then minister of Communication and Transport, Brian Mushimba, now minister of higher Education, confirmed to the media in March 2019 that the launch of the fourth mobile network operator had been pushed forward to November 2019.
