M-MOBILE Telecommunication Company, Zambia’s first mobile phone manufacturing plant, will start producing phones with capacity to accommodate double SIM cards starting next month, chairperson Mohammed Seedat has said.
The company, which was launched last year, produced 20,000 handsets and exported about 10,000 of the phones to Zimbabwe while the rest were supplied on the local market. Mr Seedat said the components used to manufacture double SIM phones were still on their way to Zambia, adding that the firm would come up with new phones by next month.
He said the new phones would be supplied to the domestic market as well as export markets like South Africa and Mozambique. “The materials to produce phones with double SIM cards delayed to arrive in the country especially during the festive season.
“The components should be arriving any time from now and we should start producing them next month,” he said in an interview in Lusaka. President Rupiah Banda launched the country’s first mobile phone manufacturing plant with assurance that the Government was working towards reducing the international gateway licensing fees to the regional average to reduce the cost of doing business in the communication sector.
President Banda was happy to note that the US$10 million project, wholly-owned by Zambians, would employ more than 200 local people in different jobs. The demand for mobile phones in Zambia in the last few years has grown, as demand for mobile phone services, particularly among low-income customers, has gone up.
[Times of Zambia]
now this is investment, 100% zambian employing zambians. but what is RB doing there because the materials to make the phones has arrived yet. it woulod have made sense if he launched the product when the plant is at full capacity. That way he can even instruct or encourage govt workers to buy the phones. Govt should be among the big customers
No company in Zambia should have GRZ among its big customers if it wants to succeed – GRZ never pays its bills!!
The company better prepare to shut up shop if a certain reptile gets to plot one.
M-Mobile is a Zambian or Malasyian company? I am not sure about that..Where is the technology coming from? Where did the $3m initial investiment come from? Is Zambian Breweries a Zambian Company?
Yahhhhaaa. Now when i am in zambia i do not need to hide one phone from my wife or swithch it off when she is around.
Let’s give credit where it is due. Great Pioneers, if only our government would support a company that is Run by a Ngulube, Hamaundu, Imboela and the likes.
Stupid idea? so wahts the purpose of this ‘innovation’?
When this company came up,i heard Banda’s son was involved but right now i don’t care,i think it’s a proper investment.What we need in Zambia & Africa as a whole is to manufacture and not just receive finished goods,this is the only way we will develop but i have to stress that i do not tolerate the fact that Banda’s sons are involved in this or many other deals & contracts mostly involving procurement of govt resources as rumours & internal intelligence sources suggest.
Jigga you are a rumour monger
#9, lol!!! First he heard, but now he thinks!!!