Zain Malawi offers additional coverage sites to widen network

Zain Malawi, once known as Celtel Malawi, on Monday announced additional of nine coverage sites across the country in a bid to improve the quality and delivery of service to its over one million subscribers on its nationwide network.

The company is currently serving 1.2 million customers.

Zain is spending about US$30 million for the current exercise being undertaken by telecoms engineers from Siemens, Nokia and National Electric Company, and by the end of 2009, Zain Malawi would have spent US$100 million towards expanding and upgrading of its network to ensure it covers every part of Malawi.

Zain Malawi\’s Marketing Director, Enwell Kadango, said the new installations included five capacity sites and another five additional base stations in the central and southern regions of Malawi. They are part of Zain’s current project to upgrade and expand its network operations in Malawi which started in August, he said.

The five new stations are at Sharpe Valley and Bilira in the central district of Ntcheu, Chisitu in the southern district of Mulanje, Tengani in Nsanje and Malembo in Mangochi, also in the south of the country.

The remaining four capacity enhancement sites are in Blantyre’s Ndirande, Nkolokoti, Chirimba and Chichiri areas of the city.

"The new coverage sites underscore the company’s commitment to give customers modern and world class network services in line with its strategy of becoming one of the top 10 telecommunications brands in the world," he said.

He pointed out that versatile network experts from Sweden, Germany and Japan are working round the clock to speedily integrate new software and hardware installations to ensure that Zain customers continue to enjoy high quality and uninterrupted services.

The additional network installations and other phases of the upgrade, he said, are expected to be completed in September, and were aimed at accommodating up to three million customers on the Zain network.

Zain is Malawi’s mobile telecommunication leader with a market share of 74 percent and 86 percent population coverage.