MTN Zambia has promised to increase Zambia's low internet penetration through the introduction of affordable data services in the Southern African country.

The company says while the cost of communication in Zambia remains high, it predicted a reduction because of the advent of services such as Whatsapp.

Amon Jere, MTN chief Sales and distribution officer said the company has realised that data will soon be the main driver of communication in the country.

"Internet penetration in Zambia is still very low. To bridge the digital divide, we are putting out data proposition at the forefront of everything we do. MTN Zambia is providing affordable data services and devices. For us, prices should not be an issue when it comes to accessing the internet," Jere said.

Jere said MTN has launched a promotion dubbed Spaka that will allow subscribers to get 10Mb of data, 6 minutes of talktime and unlimited SMS for 24hrs for ZMK2 every day.

He said the promotion is aimed at reducing the cost of internet in Zambia and allowing as many people as possible to access the internet through laptops and internet enabled handsets.

The Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) says there are 10. 5 million mobile phone subscribers in the country, but less than 3 million have access to the internet.

MTN, Airtel and Zamtel are the three mobile phone operators currently operating in Zambia.

Locals are paying as much as ZMK0.28 per second for mobile phone calls, while data bundles cost as much as ZMK4 for 10Mbs.

As a result, the Zambian government, through the Minister of Communication Yamfwa Mukanga, has called on the three mobile operators to reduce the cost of communication.

The government has also said it will facilitate the introduction of a fourth mobile phone operator should others fail to comply.