Zambia's Minister of Communications and Transport Brian Mushimba has instructed the newly appointed board of directors at state-owned Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel) to reach the 3 million customer mark before the end of 2018.

"Zamtel is vibrant and on the upswing and so as a board, government expects that you will push for the growth the company and make it a flagship of communication. Zamtel has to become the country's preferred network," Mushimba said.

Zamtel is understood to have extended its reach to 2 million customers, with Airtel Zambia, the country's second largest operator, now standing at close to 4 million.

MTN Zambia remains s in the driving seat with about 6 million customers.

Zamtel acting CEO Sydney Mupeta said the company has continued on its accelerated growth path since May this year – on the back of an aggressive subscriber acquisition drive, attractive marketing and product offers.

"The company continues to show great potential for growth on the mobile business segment, the firm remains focused on pushing growth barriers out of the way to aggressively grow the business and turn it into a viable and profitable company before the end of the year," Mupeta said.

He said Zamtel was commitment to investing in network expansion to increase capacity owing to the growing customer base.