Page 145 - SAMENA Trends - January-February 2023

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Paratus Zambia, a part of the pan-African terrestrial and cross-border fiber network and satellite
telecommunications company Paratus Group, has communications to provide high-quality internet
been awarded a data gateway license in Zambia; this services and import/export internet data capacity to
is, apparently, the country's last available such license. other ISPs in Zambia.” Chama Chinyanta, the General
Zambia The award, from regulator the Zambia Information Manager of Infrastructure at Paratus Zambia, added,
“We started the process in April 2022. We were awarded
and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA),
is important because, according to a number of news the ZICTA tender because Paratus meets the necessary
reports, only data license holders can deploy international infrastructure requirements. For example, our network
gateways and cross-border communications services, is connected and spans the southern African region.
and import internet data traffic into the country. In This means we can deliver what is needed: international
fact, this service had previously been limited to mobile data connections to neighboring countries. We are
network and carrier providers. Now Paratus Zambia has now one of six providers with this type of license and
joined the five other data gateway licensees in Zambia can import/export data into and out of Zambia.” The
in holding exclusive rights to import and export internet award comes at a time when Paratus Zambia is nearing
data capacity. Quoted on the MyBroadband ICT website, completion of its metro fiber rollout project which was
Marius van Vuuren, the Managing Director of Paratus carried out in partnership with Meta.
Zambia, said: “With this license, we can leverage our (February 8, 2023) www.developingtelecoms.com

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