Zambia Information and Technology Authority (ZICTA) has issued GOtv Zambia Limited with a notification of award for a Network Licence which authorises them to install and operate a Digital Terrestrial Television network.

According to statement issued by ZICTA Manager of Corporate Communications Ngambo Nankonde yesterday, GOtv Zambia Limited planned to deploy a cost effective DTT network with a transmission system based on satellite technology.

“Zambia Information and Technology Authority (ZICTA) has issued GOtv Zambia Limited with a notification of award for a Network Licence (Private Signal Distributor) which authorises them to install and operate a Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) distribution network. The Network Licence shall be issued under the National Market Segment with associated resources. GOtv Zambia Limited plans to deploy a cost effective DTT Network with a transmission system based on satellite technology, specifically C band and Ku band as redundancy. It is therefore expected that GOtv Zambia Limited will provide an overall system availability of more than 99.50%. The company has pledged to invest US $95m in five years and a total of US $241m in 15 years. In addition to the investment pledge, the company already has an existing investment portfolio of US $21m in Zambia. In accordance with the Information and Communication Technologies Act No 15 of 2009, Digital Migration policy of 2014 and Licencing Guidelines of 2017, on October 23, 2017, ZICTA, through an open competitive process, invited proposals in support of applications that would lead to at the time of closing for receipt of Investment Proposals on February 9, 2018 at 10:00 hours local time. Only one investment proposal was received by ZICTA,” stated Nankonde.

“The decision to issue the notification of award of licence to GOtv Zambia Limited follows the process of technical and financial evaluation. GOtv Zambia has been in operation in Zambia since 2011 and has an appropriate coverage of 85% urban population. The company is a public private partnership between Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and MultiChoice Africa Holdings BV (MultiChoice Africa) established for purposes of operating a signal distribution network. MultiChoice Africa is a multinational network operator with DTT networks with operations in 11 African countries including Zambia and ZNBC is a government owned broadcaster with good national coverage.”