Zamtel invests US$300 million in network upgrade

State-owned telecoms company Zamtel has disclosed that it will invest US$300 million over the next three years to improve its network coverage.

The investment in infrastructure involves increasing the number of Zamtel’s transmission sites to 1,793 over the next three years from the existing 897 to improve voice and data service.

The new sites which are part of the Zambian government phase II tower project will make Zamtel become the telecoms firm with the widest coverage.
The new sites which have already started going up will have 2G, 3G and 4.5G technologies and inbuilt power solutions.

Zamtel Acting Chief Technical Officer Freelance Bwalya said the investment will result in Zamtel’s improved national mobile coverage footprint for all technologies such as 2G, 3G and 4G.

Mr Bwalya was speaking during a Zamtel media tour of its modernization and upgrade project at selected facilities in Lusaka.

He said currently, the Woodlands Technical Centre is undergoing expansion and rehabilitation which involves upgrade of power, cooling and security to its Tier III Cloud Data Centre at a cost of K7 million and that 85 percent of the works are completed.

Mr Bwalya also disclosed that the Lamya House Rehabilitation and Modernization project is costing K30 million.

He said Zamtel has engaged Chinese firm Huawei to demolish and reconstruct open floor equipment room architecture and upgrade of power, cooling and security to Tier III Cloud Data Centre and that works are on-going with 20% complete.

Mr Bwalya told Journalists that Zamtel is also implementing a Converged Multimedia Subsystem Core Project at a cost of US$15m which will result in converged mobile and fixed core network.
He said the firm will also install 130 x 4G Fixed Wireless Sites and 50 x 4G Mobile sites.

Mr Bwalya said Zamtel is further investing heavily in efficient power solutions at its Primary sites at Lamya House and Woodlands Technical Centre.

Source: Zamtel