Government says the high price of internet connectivity in the country is a hindrance to promoting research.
Education and Vocational training Permanent Secretary Andrew Phiri was speaking in Lusaka at the kick off policy of the Zambia Research Educational Network-ZAMREN.
Mr Phiri says the Information Communication and Technology -ICT-sector is key to advancing research and education in the country.
He however says the optic fibre backbone being rolled up by the private sector will enhance the development of the ICTs.
Earlier University of Zambia vice Chancellor Stephen Simukanga said ZAMREN will partner with regional research network Ubuntu net in improving education research in Zambia.
[ZNBC]
Are those Zambian kids on computers? That’s good to see!!!
I agree Internet in Zmb is very expensive. internet service providers should consider bringing down their rates. Alternatively the GVT should remove tax on this service.so that more Zambians can have access to internet at affordable charges.
Ubuntu,(lynx) very boring for beginners
Development is definitely lagging in Zambia in almost every sphere. But we understand why. The leadership (previous one) was uncaring, no vision, uncompetitive, no sense of shame. They were busy tripping over each other to steal to what little Zambia earned and to hell with devolpment.
Letting the private sector roll out broadband optical cable won’t reduce the costs but increase costs for the consumer.The government should build and spear head such projects then sub-contract to a private firm to manage the cable on behalf of the government and sells capacity to other operators aggressively as the case with Kenya’s Safaricom and Telkom Kenya. This promotes competition which in turn reduces tariffs for consumers.
The cost benefits for the government outweigh the costs in terms of Job creation, improved communication, technology etc.
Communication Industry today is a billion dollar industry and this government’s gesture of merging the Communication Department instead of making it a “stand alone” ministry wasn’t a good strategic decision.
It may look good to the voters as a cost saving measure in reality we are taking our eyes off the ball as what can be gained is a millions times greater than the paltry saved on minister’s salaries .
Could the broadband expense be the reason that there are usually no people blogging on this site from zambia. i notice that the majority of bloggers are from zambians in western countries
It might be a hindrance, but it does not justify why Zambia ranks 4000 in the world and 67 in Africa in as far as research is concerned. We cannot even carry out tangible research on Malaria –the #1 killer disease in Zambia. Institutions of higher learning, such as University of Zambia and Copperbelt University have piles and piles of professors and yet there is very little research activity going on. Its sad that Zambia has not yet come to terms with the fact that there is a direct link between Research and Development and prosperity of an economy.
There is a general disregard for academic qualification and institutions by Zambian politicians. Just look at who has replaced Mupeso at ZNBC
@6 Well they are very active on social network sites like Facebook!!
@zambianraisedbritishborn, 3G is reasonably accessible in Zambia; the problem is misplaced priorities. I am sorry to say this, but the majority of our Zambian comrades would rather gossip on Facebook and visit other elicit web portals that come here and debate on real issues affecting our country –very sad indeed.
@Jay Jay, yes indeed. It appears as though Facebook is the only thing people find pleasure accessing on the Internet.
internet is imported and its not cheap do a research.most sites are outside zambia.its different with USor UK.
What’s being done by Government to reduce the cost, or is it up to the private sector to do something?
Even all the govt websites are not upto date. Stale news all over.. Somebody out there needs to be fired. All the ministries’ websites have data that are very old. The UNZA website does not open. What is wrong with us kanshi?
#10 Phiri-thats true but its not a problem of zambains alone.Here in the US i’m yet to walk into a black household and find their tv on anything educational.In fact BET is always about music videos and blacks have internet but know very little about the world.I had a Tanzanian roomate who only watched tv for music or sports & nothing informative or educational.Most americans also think i’m old fashioned bcoz i listen to informative & educational
public radio instead of music stations.
Take a move then.Do it the china way.I so believe that china has the cheapest charges in the world.I can be on line all year long 24/7 i will spend $200.U.S.A.
Just look at statehouse website.Still carrying RB campaign messeges.
Blogging is not the essence of having internet. People blog here on LT out of having some time to spare for blogging. There are a lot of things in terms of research and academic need that most Zambians miss because of non availability of the internet. Kids in homes can have access to Khan Academy to help them study and supplement on what they learned in schools. University students could have access to research articles that are littered all over the internet and basically do their research adequately. I have at times sent articles to some UNZA lecturers by email and in paper form to help them teach. I think UNZA and other learning institutions must be given discounted access to the internet, and using there resources must install wireless network for their staff and students.
Cost of internet in Zambia is too expensive, probably the most expensive and the slowest in the region! Calling Zambia from abroad is also too expensive as compared to other countries. Why is Zambia such an expensive destination, even to tourists?
# 5 JAY JAY . What are you doing Back in the UK I thought you were in Zambia doing stuff for Airtell.
Zambian providers are clueless. I was looking at the tariffs that Zamtel charges. They are exploitative. For instance, for me to phone Zambia from the UK, I pay 2 pence a minute to a landline and 10 pence a minute to a mobile. Phoning a landline within Zambia, using Zamtel, is 16 pence a minute! I hate to think how much an international call costs. Instead of increasing their customer base, Zamtel increase prices to maintain their revenue in the face of dwindling customer numbers. This only hurts our economy while enriching the these businesses. In a poor country the cost of living should be lower as a rule. That is why companies put their servers in India.
Ok Internet is really very expensive in Zambia, Zambians do blog here on LT & other websites. These flags do no show the exact location were u re I belive. Am currently in Zambia, Chililabombwe but have noticed every time I see a different flag on my comment. Zambians still have no much interest I think on sites related to news on technology, they like facebook very much that I cant disagree & music sites or pornographic, gossip those re the sites they visit very much. Myself internet helps me very much & feel I cant live without it.
Internet charge are expensive in Zambia dispite the implemetion of the fibre network. Research can not be attained confirned in the locality of our nation. We need to explore more other cultures and the only way is through the internet. Hope ZICTA will consider the pricing issue surrounding communication pa ZED
I always blog and I’m in Zambia but it gives me a foreign flag.
Accessing this site from a mobile device like smartphone or tablet is at times cumbersome as this site isn’t mobile phone friendly and annoyingly self reloads every 10 minutes making it impossible to type an articulate post in your own time.
Go to The Zambian Peoples PACT on Facebook which is a politics based page and you’ll be surprised at the hive of activity there. I think this is partly due to the ease of access to FB from mobile devices. Moreover what’s the point of access this site if the can ready by pay the print media in Zambia.
I think the problem has to do with govt policy on research. How committed is our govt to improving research capacity and finding home-grown solutions? Internet is only a tool for research but you need policies and other resources in place.
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