ZICTA Fines Airtel, Orders K5.2M in Compensation Over June Data Outage
During a press briefing held in Lusaka, ZICTA Director General, Eng. Collins Mbulo, confirmed that the regulatory body had conducted a detailed investigation and found Airtel in breach of multiple provisions of the ICT regulatory framework.
The Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) has imposed regulatory sanctions on Airtel Networks Zambia Limited following a major data services outage that occurred on June 10, 2025. The disruption affected subscribers across Lusaka and Central Provinces, causing widespread inconvenience and sparking concern among consumers and the business community.
Speaking at a press briefing held in Lusaka on July 11, ZICTA Director General Eng. Collins Mbulo confirmed that the regulator launched an immediate investigation into the incident. Based on its findings and the responses submitted by Airtel, the Authority concluded that the operator had violated key regulatory obligations.
ZICTA identified three major contraventions: Airtel failed to resolve critical network faults within the timelines set by the Quality of Service Guidelines; did not notify ZICTA and customers of the outage within one hour, as required by the Consumer Protection and Code of Conduct Guidelines; and neglected to issue a public apology within two hours after resolving the service disruption.
In response, ZICTA has directed Airtel to compensate affected customers with service credits totaling K5.2 million. In addition, the company must pay a K828,000 fine for violating both the Quality of Service and Consumer Protection Guidelines. Airtel is also required to issue a formal public apology.
To prevent future occurrences, Airtel has committed to accelerating its three-year investment plan into a single year, pledging a total of $75 million. This rapid expansion includes deploying around 400 new network sites by December 2025, upgrading all existing sites to 4G, and rolling out an additional 175 5G sites. The company also plans to modernize its core network infrastructure to improve overall service quality and reliability.
ZICTA emphasized that it will closely monitor these undertakings to ensure compliance and performance. The Authority reiterated its commitment to protecting consumer rights and holding service providers accountable to ensure reliable and transparent ICT services in Zambia.
Eng. Mbulo concluded by stressing that Airtel and all other operators must uphold their responsibilities to the Zambian public, as the country’s economy continues to depend on resilient and high-quality digital infrastructure.
