Fight over mobile services in Zambia appealed to high court

The Communications Authority of Zambia (CAZ) has taken the battle over which company becomes the country's fourth mobile-phone service provider to the nation's highest court.

The CAZ wants to give a license to an unnamed international mobile-phone company, claiming Vodacom Zambia does not have the capacity to operate the fourth mobile company.

The appeal follows a ruling early this month by the country's high court that Vodacom Zambia, a local company, be given a license and that after that CAZ can invite a fifth provider into Zambia. The CAZ charges that the high court judge erred in that ruling and so has taken the case to the Supreme Court.

Vodacom Zambia directors Enock Kavindele and Enock Kavindele Jr. had sought an injunction in the high court restraining CAZ from issuing the fourth national mobile license to any international company other than Vodacom Zambia.

Vodacom applied for a license in 2001 and was awarded one, but the CAZ later claimed that it did not have enough frequencies to give to Vodacom. But after the Zambian government through the Ministry of Communications and Transport relocated frequencies to the CAZ it did not give them to Vodacom, but instead canceled the license claiming the company failed to meet the license conditions.

In his ruling however, Judge Phillip Musonda said Vodacom Zambia has always been willing to meet the conditions of the license, which include brining in a strategic partner and paying US$3.28 million in fees.

The Communications Authority of Zambia is a public institution whose duty is to provide licenses to mobile-phone companies, ISP (Internet service providers) and electronic media.

South Africa's Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN); Celtel Zambia, a sister company of Celtel international; and CellZ, a government-run company, are currently operating in Zambia.