Lawmakers question communications minister over gateway

Questions from Zambian lawmakers have forced Minister of Communications and Transport Dora Siliya to make a statement on the government's refusal to sell international gateways to private mobile operators.

According to the lawmakers, it was not normal for Siliya to remain silent on the issue.

In April, pan-African mobile service provider Zain appealed to lawmakers to force the Zambian government to reduce the cost of gateway licenses in order to make the mobile market competitive and bring down the high cost of communication.

Siliya, however, told the lawmakers Wednesday that the Zambian government has deliberately restricted private mobile service providers from obtaining licenses for international gateways for security reasons, raising the licensing fee from US$12 million to $19.5 million.

Protests by private mobile operators over the fees have been in vain, with the government claiming that Zambia's security and the incumbent operator, Zamtel, would suffer if private operators stop routing their calls through Zamtel's international gateway.

Zamtel provides both mobile and fixed services, has exclusive rights to the Mwembeshi Earth Station and collects revenue from private service operators using the satellite facilities.

International gateway licenses allow mobile-service providers to have their own signaling access codes, rather than using government-controlled codes that monitor and record every call made.

"In addition to security reasons, there was need also for the government to consult stakeholders on the framework of running international gateways by private operators," Siliya told the lawmakers.

After pressure from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development last year, the Zambian government promised to liberalize international gateways and reduce the exorbitant costs of acquiring licenses. Instead, it hiked the licensing fee last month, making Zambia's gateway the most expensive in the region.

By comparison, gateway licenses cost $214,000 in Kenya and $50,000 in Uganda.