THE Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) has fined telecommunications provider Airtel Zambia K5.2 million following a nationwide data outage on June 10, 2025.
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This fine comes after a ZICTA investigation found Airtel in violation of quality-of-service and consumer protection guidelines.
The outage, which occurred on a Tuesday, significantly disrupted data services for subscribers, particularly in Lusaka and Central Provinces.
Many users reported difficulties accessing essential online services during the incident.
ZICTA Director General Collins Mbulo announced the penalties at a press briefing in Lusaka this morning.
He stated that Airtel was found to have breached its regulatory obligations, leading to a K828,000 fine for violating the Quality-of-Service Guidelines and the Consumer Protection and Code of Conduct guidelines.
In addition to the fine, ZICTA has ordered Airtel to compensate affected subscribers, with the total compensation amounting to K5.2 million.
The company has also been mandated to issue a formal public apology for its failure to provide reliable and consistent data services during the outage.
Mbulo stated that the penalties were a direct result of ZICTA’s investigation.
“The information provided by Airtel during our investigation was deemed insufficient and unsatisfactory,” he noted.
Mbulo emphasised that the findings concluded Airtel breached its regulatory obligations by failing to meet the standards set by the Quality-of-Service Guidelines and the Consumer Protection and Code of Conduct guidelines.
The ZICTA investigation identified two primary violations.
Airtel failed to resolve critical network faults promptly, leading to prolonged disruption and inconvenience for its subscribers and the company did not also comply with guidelines mandating prompt notification (within one hour of an outage) to both ZICTA and its customers.
This omission, according to Mbulo, further compounded the negative impact of the outage on Airtel’s subscribers.
By Sharon Zulu
Kalemba July 11, 2025
