Click Here & Upgrade PDF Complete Expanded Features Unlimited Pages Documents Electronic Media Broadcasting in Zambia dates back to 1941 when the colonial government opened a radio station in Lusaka. Until after the re-introduction of multi-party politics in 1991, radio and TV broadcasting was a preserve of the state, either as a Government department or as a statutory body. However, the enactment of the following laws to facilitate the liberalisation of the media industry has opened new avenues for radio and TV services across the country: (a) (b) (c) Radio Communications Act of 1994 Independent Broadcasting Authority Act of 2002 ZNBC (Amendment) Act of 2002 The above legislation together with the Zambia National Broadcasting (ZNBC) Act of 1987 and the ZNBC Licensing Regulations (1993) provide for the legal and regulatory framework for the broadcasting sub-sector in Zambia. The Independent Broadcasting Act also establishes the Independent Broadcasting Authority as the regulator for the broadcasting sub-sector. However, the regulatory agency is not yet functional. Since 1994, Zambia has made significant advances in liberalising the airwaves thus allowing private sector participation in the sub-sector. This has resulted in the opening of a number of commercial and community radio stations. There is at least one (1) community radio station and ZNBC FM Transmission in each province. Three TV broadcasting stations are operational, namely; ZNBC, Trinity Broadcasting and Muvi TV. On the other hand MultiChoice Zambia, part of the pan- African pay TV Company is providing subscription based Satellite TV services across the country while CASAT also provides pay cable TV services in Lusaka. On the other front, the convergence of technologies and markets has created opportunities such as Internet radio broadcasting, which is becoming popular among local commercial radio stations thus reaching the entire world with very minimum costs. While this situation expands opportunities in the ICT sector, the current regulatory framework in telecommunications and broadcasting sub-sectors are slowly becoming inadequate in addressing new challenges arising from convergence of services. Some of the challenges include: (a) Non-availability of ICT tools and services especially in rural and underserved urban areas; (b) High cost of access to ICT tools and services whenever available; (c) Inadequate local content to support cultural promotion and traditional Knowledge development; (d) Limited coverage of electronic media across the country; (e) The role of ZNBC as the national broadcaster with respect to information delivery to the General public amidst liberalised airwaves needs clarity to ensure, responsibilities and equity; (f) The regulation of Internet Telephony (VoIP) and Broadcasting amidst the 5