Government has expressed worry at the underutilization of mobile phone services in the country.
Transport and Communications Minister, Geoffrey Lungwangwa, says many people are not able to access the many mobile phone services that companies in the sector are offering.
Professor Lungwangwa said this when he led the Parliamentary Committee on Communication and Local government in touring Zain Headquarters in Lusaka today.
He said people have limited usage of mobile phone services as they are only using it to make phone calls and sending messages.
Prof. Lungwangwa said there was need for people to start using mobile phones to access other services such as the INTERNET to enable them obtain vital information as well as getting connected to the rest of the world.[quote]
“The usability of mobile phone technology in Zambia is still underutilized, people have limited use for it, and they only use it for calling but cannot access mobile INTERNET and such other services” he said.
Meanwhile, Professor Lungwangwa has assured that the international gate way is still under government control.
And speaking earlier, Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Communication and Local government, Ngandu Magande called on Zain Zambia to connect Information Communication Technology (ICT’s) to the rural areas.
Mr. Magande said he was impressed with the development of ICT in the country though rural areas where still untapped.
And Zain Zambia, Managing Director, David Holliday, said his company was investing in optic fiber in Lusaka, Livingstone, the Copperbelt and other major cities to improve on the speed of connectivity.
Mr. Holliday said the company had already stated laying the optic fiber in Lusaka and would soon go to other cities staring with Livingstone and the Copperbelt.
He said this would reduce the cost of connectivity adding that the current connectivity by satellite is expensive.
Meanwhile, Mr. Holiday said the Third Generation (3G) license the communication Authority (CA) issued to Zain was not for commercial use but for testing purposes.
He said Zain was still waiting for permission from government to give them the license to officially launch the 3G license.
Mr. Holliday further disclosed that his company has embarked on a training programme called ‘train the trainer’ where Zambian technicians and engineers are taken to study abroad-Zanis
Baisa ababufi bwakunya
ZAIN number one
iwe Lunwangwa how can people effectively use the mobile phone, if they can not afford three meals a day? Besides the services you ar suggesting on mobile phone usage are expensive. Give people employement first and pay them well so they can afford bread and butter on their tables, that way they will also spend more on phones.
BREAKING NEWS CBU STUDENTS RUNS AMOK IN KITWE TOWN – SHOPS CLOSE BUSINESS OPERATIONS.
On “He said this would reduce the cost of connectivity adding that the current connectivity by satellite is expensive.” This explains why mobile phones are underutilized. Surfing the net requires more band width than SMS or calls. I just hope the optical fiber being laid will reduce the cost since there will be plenty of bandwidth for everyone. I am only disappointed by the Zain marketing director’s statement which did not include rural areas but just along the line of rail for the fiber plan.
Can’t agree more with #1. These are Damn lies and Damn lies. Zambians don’t use other mobile services because of the following Prof Minister
1) Data access costs are damn expensive
2) The Mobile handset by the majority are SIDO. They don’t have proper browsers. Basically outdated handsets
3) Even when you have a smart phone or an update handset the connectivity especially by ZAIN is so pathetic and unreliable and they keep deducting money from your account for even timeouts.
4)The Govt itself is in Stone age. The government does not even have the information people want to access or download on the Internet and later on the mobile version. Just look at your Govtment papers non of them have mobile edition like CNN
So stop lying to the masses. Fix these issues
UNZA students have now ended there class boycott. Students are now seen carrying books as they head to the library to “job”. All is now quiet.
By the way tomorrow is graduation ceremony at UNZA, and Dora Siliya is scheduled to be guest of honor.
Usage of other services provided by mobile phone providers depends on, among other things, levels of development in the country and income levels of the general citizenry. The proportion of Zambians using internet as a means of communication is nothing to write home about. Even among these one third of them depend on internent services provided by their employers. It is still ,on aggregate , expensive for an avarage Zambian to spend K5 pin in an internet cafe. So Bwana minister before you complain of under utilization, improve the quality of life for the people. The charges by providers are also a limiting factor,some providers are exploitative, this too needs your attettion. As for Magande,s call welcome but the question is do those people in rural areas have enough income.
It’s true that people underutilise the mobile phones but in the same vain the Mobile phone service providers in Zambia have not really availed a number of services with easy the can be used by the people. They should consider availing standard phones for using their services as this will improve on the usability and constant usage. Other wise we are far back as a country.
UNZA Graduation tommorrow. Abash with Dora as guest of honour. God forbido!!!
I would rather use the internet connection from either Zamnet,UUNEt,Zamtel or Microlink instead of using Zain connectability because of the time and money wasted on connection, it’s quite pathetic and a shear waste of the effort. Is this the underutilisation the Prof was talking about, then am sorry it will continue like this!.
what is the Govt doing about it, these pipo are only good at making noise, empty tins make a lot of noise.
Zambians ministers are backward. Which other services is he talking about. Without 3G ba bwana all other services are redundant. It is the govt which is preventing the development of ICT in Zambia. What is so bloody special about the International gateway?. It is just a bloody facility that enables international connectivity. If someone wants to kickass in Zambia he or she wont do so over the phoneline. Hasnt Zamnet connected with the Euro-Africa cable via Namibia? And what the bloody hell do you call that? Aint that another IG? You think IG is only Mwembeshi eh? Ubupupu
These MMD ministers should not talk for the sake of saying something at functions, ala atase bane
Prof. Geof Lungwagwa has grown nuts in his head. How does he expect to access all services being offered by Zain and MTN etc. Services such as internet etc cost money to access and he knows very well that there is high unemployment. He should commend clients who manage to call and use SMS. What I know he has his mobile top done by taxpayers and to him cost does not matter. To David Holiday dont tell lies on 3rd Generation License. CA stated that you have bin granted already. Its no point of you -Zain to invest million of dollars on testing equipment. Unless CA is telling lies or both have bin caught by Kavindele. Optical fibre, it was announced that you will be using Zesco and CEC network. What we know you have gone commercial just bin testing and ant time will launch may it has bin done
Who knows looking at the minister in his posture and excitement on his face this was a launch. It this point there was no way you invest millions of dollars only to reverse. There is no under utilization of mobile phone services tha is reason they are investing in 3rd generation etc. and others intending to taek over 75% in Zamtel. The market according to RB recently stated as PROFITABLE and able to sustain itself. I dont know why this Prof. talks a different language from his Boss. It appears RBs Ministers are miles far way from what he knows. No wonder he could not tick at education. he goes to chitambo to talk of education instead of transport & communication. What a Prof? The grey matter he had has evaporated in thin airs. MMD cadre mentality has taken its toll on Prof.
There so much red tape in Zambia. Zambia was one of the first countries to have internet in Africa but alas it has now one of the least developed communications systems .. For a company to obtain a license , it must be well connected to the almight corrupt ruling elite. The report done by the SADC communications Authority is shocking. I will urge fellow bloggers to read it on the web.
i, personally, would NOT be worried about what g.r.z is worried about. they are only in it for their own selfish interest. and this is coming from a professor, who’s definitely in his own ivory tower. who would give a toss about the internet if they are struggling/battling to get their one-meal-a-day? some politicians are just stoopid beyond belief!!
This is what I also thought. A population of a few million users cannot guarantee huge returns for investors in this branch. These are uncomfortable truths that the investors must face.
It’s a market economy. Deman and supply rules. There’s no point in selling services that have no market. Most people in Zambia dont cannot afford those mobile services ie the market is not there or not large enough, naturally. Even if the minister whips Zambians into buying, they wont afford. May be the phone companies were over ambitious, or did not research the Zambian market well enough..
On “Meanwhile, Professor Lungwangwa has assured that the international gate way is still under government control“, is the brother a Prof of the Ministry of Communicaions and Transport? I thought his professorship ended when he stopped lecturing at UNZA and so why is Dr Lungwangwa still behaving as if he is still lecturing at UNZA?
Also, can Minister Dr Lungwangwa tell the Nation what the international gate way is so that characters like kc can know the difference between it and National Security, please.
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Jude 1:4 + KJV Bible
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
The GRZ should first provide wealth for pipo to have enough to spend on cell phones
I think the minister have not researched on how much it costs for an ordnary Zambian,him is just interested in marketing so that his shares can bulge
I dont agree on this statement. (1). Majority of Zambians use cellphones including marketeers. (2) Maybe on the internet but, how can pipo use this facility which is only accessible with an expensive handset? Most of us use Nokia 3310. (3) Zambia is the most expensive country to ring a phone either locally or abroad. So the answer is to reduce the cost of making a call fuuulustop.
What about the cost of these services?? It all good having fancy services but not if 10 percent of your take home goes towards it
According to Wikipedia, the “meaning of the word professor (Latin: professor, person who professes to be an expert in some art or science, teacher of highest rank[1]) varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual. For example, in the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, United States, Canada, and Hong Kong it is a legal title conferred by a university denoting the highest academic rank.”
An certainly, in Zambia which follows the British or United Kingdom systems, the term Professor applies to an academic lecturer and not Minister.
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Jude 1:4 + KJV Bible
Cage Kafupi, Cage Kafupi! Cage Kafupi! Cage Kafupi! This friday Kafupi goes to the Jail. Cage Kafupi! Cage Kafupi!
Lungangwa honestly speaking,how do u except an ordinally zambian to afford a mobile phone,wen he is unable to have 3 meals a day? Shame on you i wonder how you became a professor of ubufi bwa kunya.
Kapyuku,
On which website is the report done by the SADC Communications Authority?
Maestro Hakucincha,
You have a valid point here. In Zambia we seem so obsessed with high – sounding titles. If you are not working at a university, you are not supposed to be called Professor, period. Sadly, we have egotistical types like Dr. Nkandu Luo and Dr. Geoffrey Lunwangwa who insist on being called Professors even when they are outside academia! Professorship is simply an academic rank an academic acquires after promotion. At UNZA, for example, the progression through promotion is as follows: You start at Lecturer III, which is the lowest rank, and then move upwards through Lecturer II, Lecturer I, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, and finally full Professor. The funny thing is that if…
The funny thing is that if someone who is a mere Lecturer leaves UNZA to join government like Austin Sichinga and Mumba Malila, they are not called Lecturer Mumba Malila or Lecturer Austin Sichinga, but simply Dr. Sichinga and Mr. Malila. Should John Banda who was once promoted to Managing Director of Bongololo Airways but now works as Director of Operations at Kabanana Breweries continue being referred to as Managing Director John Banda? Condoleezza Rice and Henry Kissinger were Professors at Stanford and Harvard Universities respectively, but once appointed as Secretaries of State, they became plain Dr.Rice and Dr. Kissinger. Just why we are so cursed??
#30. MAX. You have a good point. I have just learnt also.
29/30 Max thanks. Following your “Should John Banda who was once promoted to Managing Director of Bongololo Airways but now works as Director of Operations at Kabanana Breweries continue being referred to as Managing Director John Banda? Condoleezza Rice and Henry Kissinger were Professors at Stanford and Harvard Universities respectively, but once appointed as Secretaries of State, they became plain Dr.Rice and Dr. Kissinger. Just why we are so cursed?” I hope our badly trained journalists will stop this nonsense of calling people with titles that have ceased to work.
This behaviour of using university academic lecturer or researcher titles is causing confusion to our your minds and it should be corrected as soon as possible.
Be blessed all.
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Matt 6:33
CBU HAS TURNED A TOYOTA SURF TO USHES BA UNZA ANY LATEST VIVA CBU
The problem is in Zambia mobile phone services are quite expensive even for just calling or text msgs (aka sms). Many people would rather purge you so you can call them back, than actually call and talk to you. Even if they do, it’s normally 1980 telegraph-like conversation rather than a real conversation. The govt is out of touch with how expensive mobile phone services are in Zambia, largely because, they use tax payers money for their phone calls or get kick backs from the service providers. If this industry can’t regulate itself competitively as to make it cheaper for the user, then we need proper price regulation to protect the user! They are very expensive and that’s why they are underutilised. And 3G Services are even more expensive, even by developed standards!
Mobile phone service is important more especially in the business sector. Like Harvard and Oxford educated economist Dr. Dambisa Moyo states, a farmer can inquire how much he would sell his cow in town A as compared to town B. To do this, he would have to use a mobile phone by either sending text messages or making short business phone calls. That said, for example if a farmer in Southern Province finds out that his cow would fetch him $100 in Livingstone as compared to $250 in Lusaka (excluding transport costs), he would most likely sell his Cow in Lusaka. The faster way would be to use the SMS service. An even faster way would be to use some form of real time price negotiation to negotiate their prices between buyers and sellers all from different parts of the nation in one forum.
cont #35
Mobile phones can be used for this. One can download Mig33 (as an example) on their mobile phones and use one of the real time discussion forums to conduct business. The failure is not on the consumers side, it is on the service providers side. I understand Lusaka Times only offers their service to iPHONES when it comes to mobile phone usage (I could be wrong) but if Lusaka times also had to offer their services to for example an outdate Nokia phone that can connect to the internet, their traffic would increase.
Many service providers have shunned the importance of internet on the phone in the third world but this would be a great source of so much information. I agree with the Minister, mobile phone services are underutilized.
That man who disowned his own child can not be trusted with the GataWay. This is the Zamtel sataelite located in Mwanbeshi constituency along Mongu Road is used to commuicate to the outside. Eg If you want to ring a friend or business associate may be in West Africa, the call is connected thru the Earth Station. In simple terms its like a local telephone exchange. Even Zain and MTN to link to other countries use Zamtel facilite. So how does this Chi mukulumpe say GRZ will retain the GATEWAY. Once you acquire 75% then you are done. they will have 100% not 75% access to the gateway facilite. This man should go back to Barotseland and join Barotse Band. Did you that he is or was sponsor of that band?