Airtel Zambia is a telecommunications company operating in Zambia. Founded in 1998 as Celtel Zambia Plc, the company is owned by Bharti Airtel Zambia Holdings BV (BAZHBV) which in 2018 held 96.36% control of the shares, with the remaining 3.64% are owned by public investors through the Lusaka Stock Exchange (LuSE). Celtel rebranded to Zain Zambia in August that same year, following the acquisition of Celtel International by Zain Group. 

It is a subsidiary of Airtel Africa plc, an Indian multinational company that provides telecommunications and mobile money services in 14 countries in Africa. Airtel Africa is majority owned by Bharti Airtel, an Indian telecommunications company. Airtel Zambia offers mobile voice and data services as well as mobile money services within the country. Airtel Zambia's corporate history includes a significant acquisition by Bharti Airtel. In June 2010, Bharti Airtel acquired Zain's mobile operations in 15 African countries, including Zambia. This acquisition made Airtel the world's fifth-largest wireless carrier by subscriber base at the time.

Alias
Airtel Networks Zambia Plc.
Country
Zambia
Type
Network Operator
Ownership
Bharti Airtel Group
Airtel Chad logo

Airtel Zambia 3G Network

The company provided 2G GSM services over 900 MHz since 1998, and launched 3G UMTS with HSPA+ data services in January 2012. Airtel later added U900 services as part of its African Network Excellence program.

Network Frequency Band Status
B1 (2100 MHz)
Active
B8 (900 MHz)
Active
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 3G Network
Launch

Airtel Zambia 4G Network

4G LTE began in December 2017 which involved a refarm of GSM 900 MHz spectrum to launch a B8 (900 MHz) LTE network.

Airtel holds a further 20 MHz of paired spectrum in the 1800 MHz band which does not appear to be in use.

4G Frequency Bands
Network Frequency Band Max. Channel Bandwidth Status
B8 (900 MHz)
5
Active
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 4G Network
Launch