Lusaka, June 7, 2026, 20:59 CAT
Zamtel has signed a memorandum of understanding, a preliminary agreement, with Ericsson to support private 4G and 5G networks in Zambia, moving the state-linked operator deeper into business connectivity as local rivals push faster mobile services. The agreement was formalised during a visit by an Ericsson delegation led by Alain Maupin, its head of Eastern and Northern Africa.
The timing matters because Zambia’s telecoms market is no longer just about selling more SIM cards. Active mobile subscriptions rose 9.9% to 23 million in 2024, PwC Zambia said, while Airtel Networks, MTN Zambia and Zamtel have all launched or started rolling out 5G services.
It also gives Zamtel another route to recover ground in a crowded market. Airtel held 47.9% of Zambia’s mobile network market in 2024, MTN had 27.8%, Zamtel had 22.9% and newer entrant ZedMobile had 1.4%, according to PwC’s 2025 telecoms report.
A private mobile network is a dedicated 4G LTE or 5G network built for a defined site or customer, rather than ordinary public mobile service. Ericsson says such networks are used when companies need stronger control, coverage or security than Wi-Fi or public cellular networks can provide.
Zamtel said the Ericsson collaboration was part of its broader strategy to use partnerships and emerging technologies to support Zambia’s digital agenda. The company said the planned private network solutions are meant to give businesses secure, high-performance connectivity and support automation, reliability and efficiency.
PwC Zambia country senior partner Andrew Chibuye and consulting partner Lyndon Lane-Poole wrote in the firm’s report that telecoms play a “vital role in Zambia’s development,” not only for communications but also through mobile financial services. That is the wider bet behind enterprise networks: better links for companies can feed into payments, logistics and other digital services.
Ericsson markets private networks for manufacturing, mining, ports, airports, logistics, utilities and healthcare. The company says 5G can support automated guided vehicles, cloud robotics, augmented reality and real-time remote control of machines, though not every use case needs 5G from day one.
The competitive pressure is not only local. MTN Group and Airtel Africa said last year they would explore network-sharing opportunities in markets including Zambia to reduce investment costs; MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita cited the need to share resources to improve returns, while Airtel Africa CEO Sunil Taldar said the approach would avoid “duplication of expensive infrastructure.” Reuters
But the Zamtel-Ericsson announcement did not give financial terms, named customers, a deployment timetable or target sectors. That leaves the main uncertainty: whether the MoU turns into signed projects with paying enterprise clients, and how quickly.
Execution will matter. Ericsson says private network deployment typically requires planning, design, setup, integration, optimisation and later scaling, steps that can vary sharply depending on the site and the customer’s needs. For Zamtel, the pact is therefore less a finished product than a test of whether it can turn 5G capability into enterprise revenue in a market still led by Airtel and MTN.
