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CEC Liquid Telecom Zambia to increase entry cables

By , ITWeb’s Zambian correspondent.
Zambia , 18 Jan 2016

CEC Liquid Telecom Zambia to increase entry cables

CEC Liquid Telecom Zambia plans to increase the number of entry cables for international capacity from three to five through Botswana and Namibia, according to local media reports.

The company's three entry cables for international capacity are in Chirundu, Kariba and Livingstone, but will be extended to the new regions.

Managing Director Andrew Kapula said CEC Liquid Telecom Zambia also intends to roll out Long-Term Evolution (LTE) to address poor internet services in the Southern African country.

According to a report published by Zambia Daily Mail, Kapula said the company will continue to invest in infrastructure in order to create robust internet connectivity services in the country.

He is quoted as saying that the company has to date connected 15, 000 homes in the capital Lusaka with internet services, which has increased internet connectivity and has surpassed the original target of 6,600 residences.

Kapula said the company wants to extend Fibre to the Home (FTTH) to Livingstone

and the Copperbelt this year where it intends to connect 10, 000 and 20, 000 homes respectively, as part of the initial stage. "This will be an on-going programme, which we intend to rollout to other towns apart from those along the line of railway," Kapula told the paper.

He said internet service in Zambia has improved, but that more needs to be done to transform the sector.

According to the results of the latest survey by the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA), the number of households that have internet access has increased from 5.8% in 2013 to 12.7% in 2015.

And the minister of Communications and Transport Kapembwa Simbao told ITWeb Africa that the government's desire is to see internet connectivity spread across the country to bolster communication.

"We want to see a situation where every citizen can access the internet no matter where he is in the country. This is why we are working to improve our national ICT policy so that we can grow the telecommunication sector," Simbao said.

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