Two other companies, the Zambia Electricity Supply Corp. (Zesco), a government-run power utility company, and Zambia Telecommunication Co. (Zamtel), are already providing telecom services on fiber-optic networks.

Liquid Telecommunications' new partnership with CEC is called CEC Liquid Telecommunications. Each partner has an equal stake in the US$30 million joint venture. The transaction has already been approved by the boards of each company although regulatory approval is still required.

Liquid is a data, voice and IP provider, supplying wholesale fiber-optic, satellite and international carrier services to telecom operators in developing countries. The company owns and operates one of the largest regional fiber-optic networks in Southern Africa, connecting and providing services in South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Liquid is also continuing to expand its regional network, incorporating a number of metro networks in major cities in the region. In Zambia, Liquid will provide wholesale capacity and terrestrial Internet bandwidth. The company said this week that it will not participate in the retail market.

"The coming on the wholesale market of another company is sure to bring down high Internet costs because of the resulting competition and the need to attract customers by the companies," said Amos Kalunga, telecom analyst from Computer Society of Zambia.